19 As for the [a](A)idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith (B)plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
20 He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a (C)tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman
To [b]prepare [c]an idol that (D)will not totter.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 40:19 Or graven image
  2. Isaiah 40:20 Or set up
  3. Isaiah 40:20 Or a graven image

Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
So the (A)craftsman encourages the (B)smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
(C)So that it will not totter.

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“Those who (A)lavish gold from the purse
And weigh silver on the scale
Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
They (B)bow down, indeed they worship it.
“They (C)lift it upon the shoulder and carry it;
They set it in its place and it stands there.
(D)It does not move from its place.
Though one may cry to it, it (E)cannot answer;
It (F)cannot deliver him from his distress.

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For the customs of the peoples are [a](A)delusion;
Because (B)it is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
“They (C)decorate it with silver and with gold;
They (D)fasten it with nails and with hammers
So that it will not totter.
“Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,
And they (E)cannot speak;
They must be (F)carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not fear them,
For they (G)can do no harm,
Nor can they do any good.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 10:3 Lit vanity

18 “What (A)profit is the [a]idol when its maker has carved it,
Or [b]an image, a (B)teacher of falsehood?
For its maker (C)trusts in his own handiwork
When he fashions speechless idols.

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Footnotes

  1. Habakkuk 2:18 Or a graven image
  2. Habakkuk 2:18 Lit a cast metal image