| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Hear the word that the LORD has spoken to you, house of Israel. | 1You people of Israel, listen to what the LORD has to say to you. |
| 2This is what the LORD says: Do not learn the way of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, although the nations are terrified by them, | 2The LORD says, "Do not start following pagan religious practices. Do not be in awe of signs that occur in the sky even though the nations hold them in awe. |
| 3for the customs of the peoples are worthless. Someone cuts down a tree from the forest; it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel. | 3For the religion of these people is worthless. They cut down a tree in the forest, and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools. |
| 4He decorates it with silver and gold. It is fastened with hammer and nails, so it won't totter. | 4He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold. He uses hammer and nails to fasten it together so that it will not fall over. |
| 5Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them for they can do no harm-- and they cannot do any good. | 5Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field. They cannot talk. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them because they cannot hurt you. And they do not have any power to help you." |
| 6Yahweh, there is no one like You. You are great; Your name is great in power. | 6I said, "There is no one like you, LORD. You are great. And you are renowned for your power. |
| 7Who should not fear You, King of the nations? It is what You deserve. For among all the wise people of the nations and among all their kingdoms, there is no one like You. | 7Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations, because you deserve to be revered. For there is no one like you among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings. |
| 8They are both stupid and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood! | 8The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless! |
| 9Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz from the hands of a goldsmith, the work of a craftsman. Their clothing is blue and purple, all the work of skilled artisans. | 9Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish and gold is brought from Uphaz to cover those idols. They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths. They are clothed in blue and purple clothes. They are all made by skillful workers. |
| 10But Yahweh is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His rage. | 10The LORD is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. When he shows his anger the earth shakes. None of the nations can stand up to his fury. |
| 11You are to say this to them, "The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under these heavens." | 11You people of Israel should tell those nations this: 'These gods did not make heaven and earth. They will disappear from the earth and from under the heavens.' |
| 12He made the earth by His power, established the world by His wisdom, and spread out the heavens by His understanding. | 12The LORD is the one who by his power made the earth. He is the one who by his wisdom established the world. And by his understanding he spread out the skies. |
| 13When He thunders, the waters in the heavens are in turmoil, and He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings the wind from His storehouses. | 13When his voice thunders, the heavenly ocean roars. He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain. He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it. |
| 14Everyone is stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image, for his cast images are a lie; there is no breath in them. | 14All these idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols. |
| 15They are worthless, a work to be mocked. At the time of their punishment they will be destroyed. | 15They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked. When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed. |
| 16Jacob's Portion is not like these because He is the One who formed all things. Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; Yahweh of Hosts is His name. | 16The LORD, who is the inheritance of Jacob's descendants, is not like them. He is the one who created everything. And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. He is known as the LORD who rules over all." |
| 17Gather up your belongings from the ground, you who live under siege. | 17Gather your belongings together and prepare to leave the land, you people of Jerusalem who are being besieged. |
| 18For this is what the LORD says: Look, I am slinging out the land's residents at this time and bringing them such distress that they will feel it. | 18For the LORD says, "I will now throw out those who live in this land. I will bring so much trouble on them that they will actually feel it." |
| 19Woe to me because of my brokenness-- I am severely wounded! I exclaimed, "This is my intense suffering, but I must bear it." | 19And I cried out, "We are doomed! Our wound is severe! We once thought, 'This is only an illness. And we will be able to bear it!' |
| 20My tent is destroyed; all my tent cords are snapped. My sons have departed from me and are no more. I have no one to pitch my tent again or to hang up my curtains. | 20But our tents have been destroyed. The ropes that held them in place have been ripped apart. Our children are gone and are not coming back. There is no survivor to put our tents back up, no one left to hang their tent curtains in place. |
| 21For the shepherds are stupid: they don't seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and their whole flock is scattered. | 21For our leaders are stupid. They have not sought the LORD's advice. So they do not act wisely, and the people they are responsible for have all been scattered. |
| 22Listen! A noise--it is coming-- a great commotion from the land to the north. The cities of Judah will be made desolate, a jackals' den. | 22Listen! News is coming even now. The rumble of a great army is heard approaching from a land in the north. It is coming to turn the towns of Judah into rubble, places where only jackals live. |
| 23I know, LORD, that a man's way of life is not his own; no one who walks determines his own steps. | 23LORD, we know that people do not control their own destiny. It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. |
| 24Discipline me, LORD, but with justice-- not in Your anger, or You will reduce me to nothing. | 24Correct us, LORD, but only in due measure. Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing. |
| 25Pour out Your wrath on the nations that don't recognize You and on the families that don't call on Your name, for they have consumed Jacob; they have consumed him and finished him off and made his homeland desolate. | 25Vent your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you. Vent it on the peoples who do not worship you. For they have destroyed the people of Jacob. They have completely destroyed them and left their homeland in utter ruin. |
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