| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. | 1You people of Israel, listen to what the LORD has to say to you. |
| 2Thus says the LORD: “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at 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 futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. | 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. |
| 4They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple. | 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. |
| 5They are upright, like a palm tree, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, For they cannot do evil, Nor can they 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." |
| 6Inasmuch as there is none like You, O LORD (You are great, and Your name is great in might), | 6I said, "There is no one like you, LORD. You are great. And you are renowned for your power. |
| 7Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due. For among all the wise men of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, There is none 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. |
| 8But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine. | 8The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless! |
| 9Silver is beaten into plates; It is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of the craftsman And of the hands of the metalsmith; Blue and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of skillful men. | 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 the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation. | 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. |
| 11Thus you shall say to them: “The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall 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 has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion. | 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 utters His voice, There is a multitude of waters in the heavens: “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.” | 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 dull-hearted, without knowledge; Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image; For his molded image is falsehood, And 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 futile, a work of errors; In the time of their punishment they shall perish. | 15They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked. When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed. |
| 16The Portion of Jacob is not like them, For He is the Maker of all things, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD 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 wares from the land, O inhabitant of the fortress! | 17Gather your belongings together and prepare to leave the land, you people of Jerusalem who are being besieged. |
| 18For thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will throw out at this time The inhabitants of the land, And will distress them, That they may find it so.” | 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 is me for my hurt! My wound is severe. But I say, “Truly this is an infirmity, And 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 plundered, And all my cords are broken; My children have gone from me, And they are no more. There is no one to pitch my tent anymore, Or set 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 have become dull-hearted, And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they shall not prosper, And all their flocks shall be 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. |
| 22Behold, the noise of the report has come, And a great commotion out of the north country, To make the cities of Judah desolate, a den of jackals. | 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. |
| 23O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct 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. |
| 24O LORD, correct me, but with justice; Not in Your anger, lest You bring 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 fury on the Gentiles, who do not know You, And on the families who do not call on Your name; For they have eaten up Jacob, Devoured him and consumed him, And made his dwelling place 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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