^(A)“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
³ For the customs of the peoples are ^[a]futile;
For ^(B)one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
⁴ They decorate it with silver and gold;
They ^(C)fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
⁵ They are upright, like a palm tree,
And ^(D)they cannot speak;
They must be ^(E)carried,
Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them,
For ^(F)they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good.”

⁶ Inasmuch as there is none ^(G)like You, O Lord
(You are great, and Your name is great in might),
^7 (H)Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
For this is Your rightful due.
For ^(I)among all the wise men of the nations,
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
⁸ But they are altogether ^(J)dull-hearted and foolish;
A wooden idol is a ^[b]worthless doctrine.
⁹ Silver is beaten into plates;
It is brought from Tarshish,
And ^(K)gold from Uphaz,
The work of the craftsman
And of the hands of the metalsmith;
Blue and purple are their clothing;
They are all ^(L)the work of skillful men.
¹⁰ But the Lord is the true God;
He is ^(M)the living God and the ^(N)everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth will tremble,
And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.

¹² He ^(Q)has made the earth by His power,
He has ^(R)established the world by His wisdom,
And ^(S)has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.
^13 (T)When He utters His voice,
There is a ^[c]multitude of waters in the heavens:
^(U)“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”

^14 (V)Everyone is ^(W)dull-hearted, without knowledge;
^(X)Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;
^(Y)For his molded image is falsehood,
And there is no breath in them.

²³ O Lord, I know the ^(A)way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
²⁴ O Lord, ^(B)correct me, but with justice;
Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.

^12 (A)There is a way that seems right to a man,
But ^(B)its end is the way of ^(C)death.