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A Satire on Idolatry

1Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.2Thus says the LORD,

“Do not learn the way of the [pagan] nations,

And do not be terrifiedand distressed by the signs of the heavens

Although the pagans are terrified by them;

3For the customsand decrees of the peoples are [mere] delusion [exercises in futility];

It is only wood which one cuts from the forest [to make a god],

The work of the hands of the craftsman with the axeor cutting tool.

4“They adorn the idol with silver and with gold;

They fasten it with hammers and nails

So that it will not fall apart.

5“They are like scarecrows in a cucumber field;

They cannot speak;

They have to be carried,

Because they cannot walk!

Do not be afraid of them,

For they can do no harmor evil,

Nor can they do any good.”

6There is none like You, O LORD;

You are great, and great is Your mightyand powerful name.

7Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?

For it is appropriateand it is Your due!

For among all the wise men of the nations

And in all their kingdoms,

There is none like You.

8But they are altogether irrationaland stupid and foolish

In their discipline of delusion--their idol is [only] wood [it is ridiculous, empty and worthless]!

9Silverthat has been beaten [into plates] is brought from[a]Tarshish,

And gold from[b]Uphaz,

The work of the craftsman and of the hand of the goldsmith;

Violet and purple are their clothing;

They are all the work of skilled men.

10But the LORD is the true Godand the God who is Truth;

He is the living God and the everlasting King.

The earth quakesand shudders at His wrath,

And the nations are not able to endure His indignation.

11In this manner you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

12God made the earth by His power;

He established the world by His wisdom

And by His understandingand skill He has stretched out the heavens.

13When He utters His voice,there is a tumult of[c]waters in the heavens,

And He causes the cloudsand the mist to ascend from the end of the earth;

He makes lightning for the rain,

And brings out the wind from His treasuriesand from His storehouses.

14Every man has become [like a brute] irrationaland stupid, without knowledge [of God];

Every goldsmith is shamed by his carved idols;

For his molten images are fraudsand lies,

And there is no breath in them.

15They are worthlessand devoid of promise, a work of delusionand mockery;

In their time of [trial and] punishment they will perish [without hope].

16The Portion of Jacob [the true God on whom Israel has a claim] is not like these;

For He is the Designerand Maker of all things,

And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance [and He will not fail them]--

The LORD of hosts is His name.

17Gather up your bundle [of goods] from the ground,

You who live under siege.

18For thus says the LORD;

“Behold, I am slinging out at this time the people of this land,

And will cause them [great] distress,

That they may find it [to be as I have said].”

19“Woe to me because of my [spiritual] brokenness!” [says Jeremiah, speaking for the nation.]

“My wound is incurable.”

But I said, “Surely this sicknessand sufferingand grief are mine,

And I must bear it.”

20My tent is destroyed,

And all my [tent] cords are broken;

My children have been taken from me [as captives] and are no more.

There is no one to stretch out my tent again

And to set up my [tent] curtains.

21For the shepherds [of the people] have become [like brutes,] irrationaland stupid,

And have not searched for the LORDor asked about Himor realized their need for Him;

Therefore they have not been wiseand have not prospered,

And all their flocks are scattered.

22The sound of a report! Behold, [the invader] comes--

A great commotion from the country of the north (Babylonia)--

To make the cities of Judah

A desolation, a hauntand dwelling place of jackals.

23O LORD, I know that the path of [life of] a man is not in himself;

It is not within [the limited ability of] man [even one at his best] to chooseand direct his steps [in life].

24O LORD, correct me [along with Your people], but with mercyand in just measure--

Not in Your anger, or You will crush meand bring me to nothing.

25Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not knownor recognize You

And on the families that do not call Your name.

For they have devoured Jacob;

They have devoured him and consumed him

And made his land a desolate waste.

[a]9 Perhaps a reference to an ancient refinery located on the island of Sardinia.
[b]9 The location of this gold mining region is unknown.
[c]13 Some ancient people believed that the sky was a canopy over the earth and that God stored rainwater behind it. Therefore, it rained only when God opened the windows of heaven.