Punishment of the Wicked

In return for their foolish and wicked thoughts, which led them astray to worship irrational serpents and worthless animals, you sent upon them a multitude of irrational creatures to punish them,

The Foolishness of Nature Worship

For all people who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature, and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know the one who exists, nor did they recognize the artisan while paying heed to his works;

Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time, was kept as a law, and at the command of monarchs carved images were worshiped.

Then the ambition of the artisan impelled even those who did not know the king to intensify their worship.

and the multitude, attracted by the charm of his work, now regarded as an object of worship the one whom shortly before they had honored as a human.

For the worship of idols not to be named is the beginning and cause and end of every evil.

For their worshipers either rave in exultation or prophesy lies or live unrighteously or readily commit perjury,

Benefits of Worshiping the True God

But you, our God, are kind and true, patient, and ruling all things in mercy.

Lovers of evil things and fit for such objects of hope are those who either make or desire or worship them.

The Foolishness of Worshiping Clay Idols

A potter kneads the soft earth and laboriously molds each vessel for our service, fashioning out of the same clay both the vessels that serve clean uses and those for contrary uses, making all alike, but which shall be the use of each of them the worker in clay decides.

People are mortal, and what they make with lawless hands is dead, for they are better than the objects they worship, since they have life, but the idols never had.

Serpents in the Desert

Moreover, they worship even the most hateful animals, which are worse than all others when judged by their lack of intelligence,