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A Satire on Idolatry

¹ Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.² Thus says the LORD,

"^(C1)Do not learn the way of the pagan nations,
And do not be terrified and distressed by the signs of the heavens
Although the pagans are terrified by them;

³ For the customs and decrees of the peoples are mere ^(C1)delusion exercises in futility;
^(C2)It is only wood which one cuts from the forest to make a god,
The work of the hands of the craftsman with the axe or cutting tool.

⁴ "They ^(C1)adorn the idol with silver and with gold;
They ^(C2)fasten it with hammers and nails
So that it will not fall apart.

⁵ "They are like scarecrows in a cucumber field;
They ^(C1)cannot speak;
They have to be ^(C2)carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not be afraid of them,
For they ^(C3)can do no harm or evil,
Nor can they do any good."

^6 (C1)There is none like You, O LORD;
You are ^(C2)great, and great is Your mighty and powerful name.

^7 (C1)Who would not fear You, O ^(C2)King of the nations?
For it is appropriate and it is Your due!
For among all the ^(C3)wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.

⁸ But they are altogether irrational and ^(C1)stupid and foolish
In their discipline of delusion—their idol is only wood it is ridiculous, empty and worthless!

^9 (C1)Silver that has been beaten into plates is brought from ^(F1)(C2)Tarshish,
And ^(C3)gold from ^(F2)Uphaz,
The work of the craftsman and of the hand of the goldsmith;
Violet and purple are their clothing;
They are all the ^(C4)work of skilled men.

¹⁰ But the LORD is the ^(C1)true God and the God who is Truth;
He is the ^(C2)living God and the ^(C3)everlasting King.
^(C4)The earth quakes and shudders at His wrath,
And the nations are not able to ^(C5)endure His indignation.

¹¹ In this manner you shall say to them, "The ^(C1)gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will ^(C2)perish from the earth and from under the heavens."

^12 (C1)God made the earth by His power;
He ^(C2)established the world by His wisdom
And by His understanding and skill He has ^(C3)stretched out the heavens.

¹³ When He utters His ^(C1)voice, there is a tumult of ^(F1)waters in the heavens,
And He causes the ^(C2)clouds and the mist to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain,
And brings out the ^(C3)wind from His treasuries and from His storehouses.

¹⁴ Every man has become like a brute ^(C1)irrational and stupid, without knowledge of God;
Every goldsmith is shamed by his carved idols;
For his molten images are frauds and lies,
And there is no breath in them.

¹⁵ They are ^(C1)worthless and devoid of promise, a work of delusion and mockery;
In their ^(C2)time of trial and punishment they will perish without hope.

¹⁶ The ^(C1)Portion of Jacob the true God on whom Israel has a claim is not like these;
For He is the ^(C2)Designer and Maker of all things,
And ^(C3)Israel is the tribe of His inheritance and He will not fail them—
The ^(C4)LORD of hosts is His name.

^17 (C1)Gather up your bundle of goods from the ground,
You who live under siege.

¹⁸ For thus says the LORD;
"Behold, I am ^(C1)slinging out at this time the people of this land,
And will cause them great distress,
That they may find it to be as I have said."

¹⁹ "^(C1)Woe to me because of my spiritual brokenness!" says Jeremiah, speaking for the nation.
"My ^(C2)wound is incurable."
But I said, "Surely this sickness and suffering and grief are mine,
And I ^(C3)must bear it."

²⁰ My ^(C1)tent is destroyed,
And all my tent cords are broken;
My ^(C2)children have been taken from me as captives and are no more.
There is ^(C3)no one to stretch out my tent again
And to set up my tent curtains.

²¹ For the shepherds of the people have become like brutes, irrational and stupid,
And ^(C1)have not searched for the LORD or asked about Him or realized their need for Him;
Therefore they have not been wise and have not prospered,
And ^(C2)all their flocks are scattered.

²² The sound of a ^(C1)report! Behold, the invader comes—
A great commotion ^(C2)from the country of the north (Babylonia)—
To ^(C3)make the cities of Judah
A desolation, a haunt and dwelling place of jackals.

²³ O LORD, I know that the path of life of ^(C1)a man is not in himself;
It is ^(C2)not within the limited ability of man even one at his best to choose and direct his steps in life. ^(VR1)

²⁴ O LORD, ^(C1)correct me along with Your people, but with mercy and in just measure—
Not in Your anger, or You will crush me and bring me to nothing.

^25 (C1)Pour out Your wrath on the nations that ^(C2)do not know nor recognize You
And on the families that ^(C3)do not call Your name.
For they have devoured Jacob;
They have ^(C4)devoured him and consumed him
And made his land a desolate waste.