1 H ear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.

Hear ye the word, O house of Israel, That Jehovah hath spoken for you.

2 T hus says the Lord, “ Do not learn the way of the nations, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens Although the nations are terrified by them;

Thus said Jehovah: Unto the way of the nations accustom not yourselves, And by the signs of the heavens be not affrighted, For the nations are affrighted by them.

3 F or the customs of the peoples are delusion; Because it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.

For the statutes of the peoples are vanity, For a tree from a forest hath one cut, Work of the hands of an artificer, with an axe,

4 “ They decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter.

With silver and with gold they beautify it, With nails and with hammers they fix it, And it doth not stumble.

5 “ Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good.”

As a palm they stiff, and they speak not, They are surely borne, for they step not, Be not afraid of them, for they do no evil, Yea, also to do good is not in them.

6 T here is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and great is Your name in might.

Because there is none like Thee, O Jehovah, Great Thou, and great Thy name in might.

7 W ho would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.

Who doth not fear Thee, king of the nations? For to Thee it is becoming, For among all the wise of the nations, And in all their kingdom there is none like Thee.

8 B ut they are altogether stupid and foolish In their discipline of delusion— their idol is wood!

And in one they are brutish and foolish, An instruction of vanities the tree itself.

9 B eaten silver is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith; Violet and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of skilled men.

Spread-out silver from Tarshish is brought, And gold from Uphaz, Work of an artizan, and of the hands of a refiner, Blue and purple their clothing, Work of the skilful -- all of them.

10 B ut the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation.

And Jehovah a God of truth, He a living God, and a king age-during, From His wrath shake doth the earth, And nations endure not His indignation.

11 T hus 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.”

Thus do ye say to them, The gods Who the heavens and earth have not made, They do perish from the earth, And from under these heavens.

12 I t is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.

The maker of the earth by His power, The establisher of the world by His wisdom, Who, by His understanding, stretched forth the heavens,

13 W hen He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses.

At the voice He giveth forth, A multitude of waters in the heavens, And He causeth vapours to come up from the end of the earth, Lightnings for rain He hath made, And bringeth out wind from His treasures.

14 E very man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them.

Brutish is every man by knowledge, Put to shame is every refiner by a graven image, For false his molten image. And there is no breath in them.

15 T hey are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish.

Vanity they, work of erring ones, In the time of their inspection they perish.

16 T he portion of Jacob is not like these; For the Maker of all is He, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The Lord of hosts is His name.

Not like these the Portion of Jacob, For framer of all things He, And Israel the rod of His inheritance, Jehovah of Hosts His name.

17 P ick up your bundle from the ground, You who dwell under siege!

Gather from the land thy merchandise, O dweller in the bulwark,

18 F or thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land At this time, And will cause them distress, That they may be found.”

For thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this time, And have been an adversary to them, So that they are found out.

19 W oe is me, because of my injury! My wound is incurable. But I said, “Truly this is a sickness, And I must bear it.”

Wo to me for my breaking, Grievious hath been my smiting, And I said, Only, this my sickness, and I bear it.

20 M y tent is destroyed, And all my ropes are broken; My sons have gone from me and are no more. There is no one to stretch out my tent again Or to set up my curtains.

My tent hath been spoiled, And all my cords have been broken, My sons have gone out from me, and they are not, There is none stretching out any more my tent, And raising up my curtains.

21 F or the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the Lord; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.

For the shepherds have become brutish, And Jehovah they have not sought, Therefore they have not acted wisely, And all their flock is scattered.

22 T he sound of a report! Behold, it comes— A great commotion out of the land of the north— To make the cities of Judah A desolation, a haunt of jackals.

A voice of a report, lo, it hath come, Even a great shaking from the north country, To make the cities of Judah a desolation, A habitation of dragons.

23 I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.

I have known, O Jehovah, that not of man his way, Not of man the going and establishing of his step.

24 C orrect me, O Lord, but with justice; Not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.

Chastise me, O Jehovah, only in judgment, Not in Thine anger, lest Thou make me small.

25 P our out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You And on the families that do not call Your name; For they have devoured Jacob; They have devoured him and consumed him And have laid waste his habitation.

Pour out Thy fury on the nations that have not known Thee, And on the families that have not called in Thy name, For they have eaten up Jacob, Yea, they have eaten him up, yea, they consume him, And his habitation they have made desolate!