1. Family of Israel, listen to the Lord!
2. This is what the Lord says: “Don’t live like people from other nations. Don’t be afraid of special signs in the sky. The other nations are afraid of what they see in the sky. But you must not be afraid of them.
3. The customs of other people are worth nothing. Their idols are nothing but wood from the forest. Their idols are made by workers with their chisels.
4. They make their idols beautiful with silver and gold. They use hammers and nails to fasten their idols down so that they will not fall over.
5. The idols of the other nations are like a scarecrow in a cucumber field. They cannot walk. They cannot talk, and the people must carry them. So don’t be afraid of their idols. They cannot hurt you. And they cannot help you either.”
6. Lord, there is no one like you. You are great! Your name is great and powerful!
7. Everyone should respect you, King of all the nations. You deserve their respect. There are many wise men among the nations, but not one of them is as wise as you.
8. All the people of the other nations are stupid and foolish. Their teachings come from worthless wooden statues.
9. They use silver from the city of Tarshish and gold from the city of Uphaz and make their statues. Carpenters and metalworkers make the idols. They put blue and purple clothes on them. “Wise men” make these “gods.”
10. But the Lord is the only true God. He is the only God who is alive. He is the King who rules forever. The earth shakes when he is angry. The people of the nations cannot stop his anger.