Isaiah 44:9-20
Good News Translation
Idolatry Is Ridiculed
9 All those who make idols are worthless, and the gods they prize so highly are useless. Those who worship these gods are blind and ignorant—and they will be disgraced. 10 It does no good to make a metal image to worship as a god! 11 Everyone who worships it will be humiliated. The people who make idols are human beings and nothing more. Let them come and stand trial—they will be terrified and will suffer disgrace.
12 The metalworker takes a piece of metal and works with it over a fire. His strong arm swings a hammer to pound the metal into shape. As he works, he gets hungry, thirsty, and tired.
13 The carpenter measures the wood. He outlines a figure with chalk, carves it out with his tools, and makes it in the form of a man, a handsome human figure, to be placed in his house. 14 He might cut down cedars to use, or choose oak or cypress wood from the forest. Or he might plant a laurel tree and wait for the rain to make it grow. 15 (A)A person uses part of a tree for fuel and part of it for making an idol. With one part he builds a fire to warm himself and bake bread; with the other part he makes a god and worships it. 16 With some of the wood he makes a fire; he roasts meat, eats it, and is satisfied. He warms himself and says, “How nice and warm! What a beautiful fire!” 17 The rest of the wood he makes into an idol, and then he bows down and worships it. He prays to it and says, “You are my god—save me!”
18 Such people are too stupid to know what they are doing. They close their eyes and their minds to the truth. 19 The maker of idols hasn't the wit or the sense to say, “Some of the wood I burned up. I baked some bread on the coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And the rest of the wood I made into an idol. Here I am bowing down to a block of wood!”
20 It makes as much sense[a] as eating ashes. His foolish ideas have so misled him that he is beyond help. He won't admit to himself that the idol he holds in his hand is not a god at all.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 44:20 It makes as much sense; or It will do him as much good.
Jeremiah 10:1-16
Good News Translation
Idolatry and True Worship
10 People of Israel, listen to the message that the Lord has for you. 2 He says,
“Do not follow the ways of other nations;
do not be disturbed by unusual sights in the sky,
even though other nations are terrified.
3 The religion of these people is worthless.
A tree is cut down in the forest;
it is carved by the tools of the woodworker
4 and decorated with silver and gold.
It is fastened down with nails
to keep it from falling over.
5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a field of melons;
they cannot speak;
they have to be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them:
they can cause you no harm,
and they can do you no good.”
6 Lord, there is no one like you;
you are mighty,
and your name is great and powerful.
7 (A)Who would not honor you, the king of all nations?
You deserve to be honored.
There is no one like you
among all the wise men of the nations
or among any of their kings.
8 All of them are stupid and foolish.
What can they learn from wooden idols?[a]
9 Their idols are covered with silver from Spain
and with gold from Uphaz,
all the work of artists;
they are dressed in violet and purple cloth
woven by skilled weavers.
10 But you, Lord, are the true God,
you are the living God
and the eternal king.
When you are angry, the world trembles;
the nations cannot endure your anger.
(11 You people must tell them that the gods who did not make the earth and the sky will be destroyed. They will no longer exist anywhere on earth.)
A Hymn of Praise to God
12 The Lord made the earth by his power;
by his wisdom he created the world
and stretched out the heavens.
13 At his command the waters above the sky[b] roar;
he brings clouds from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning flash in the rain
and sends the wind from his storeroom.
14 At the sight of this, people feel stupid and senseless;
those who make idols are disillusioned,
because the gods they make are false and lifeless.
15 They are worthless and should be despised;
they will be destroyed when the Lord comes to deal with them.
16 The God of Jacob is not like them;
he is the one who made everything,
and he has chosen Israel to be his very own people.
The Lord Almighty is his name.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 10:8 What can … idols?; or What their idols teach is worthless.
- Jeremiah 10:13 See Gn 1.6-8.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
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