Wisdom 14:16-18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
16 Then, in the course of time, the impious practice gained strength and was observed as law,
and graven things were worshiped by royal decrees.(A)
17 People who lived so far away that they could not honor him in his presence
copied the appearance of the distant king
And made a public image of him they wished to honor,
out of zeal to flatter the absent one as though present.
18 And to promote this observance among those to whom it was strange,
the artisan’s ambition provided a stimulus.
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