1Listen to the message Yahweh speaks to you, house of Israel!
2Yahweh says, “Don’t live like the nations, and don’t be frightened by signs in the sky, for the nations are frightened by them.
3For the customs of people are worthless. Someone cuts down a tree from the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with an ax.
4They decorate it with silver and gold. They fasten it with nails and hammers so it won’t fall over.
5They are like a scarecrow in a cucumber field; they cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Don’t be afraid of them, for they cannot do harm, nor can they do any good.”
6There is no one like you, Yahweh. You are great, and your name is mighty.
7Who should not respect you, King of the nations? For this honor belongs to you. Among all the wise people of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.
8But they are all foolish and stupid, taught by idols! It’s just wood.
9Silver hammered into sheets is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the craftsman and the goldsmith. Blue and purple are their clothing, all made by skilled workers.
10But Yahweh is the true God; he is the living God, and an everlasting King. When he is angry, the earth shakes, and nations cannot endure his fury.
11“You must tell them this: ‘The gods who did not create the heavens and the earth will disappear from the earth and from under the heavens.’”
12He made the earth by his power. He established the world with his wisdom, and with his understanding, he stretched out the heavens.
13When he makes his voice heard, there is a roar of water in the heavens, and he makes vapors rise from the ends of the earth. He creates lightning for the rain and brings the wind out of his storage places.
14Everyone has become stupid and ignorant; every goldsmith is ashamed of the idol he carved, because his melted idol is a lie, and there is no breath in them.
15They are worthless, a deceptive work. When the time comes for them to be judged, they will be destroyed.
16The God of Jacob is not like these idols, because he is the one who formed everything; and Israel is the people he chose as his own. His name is Yahweh of Armies.
17Gather your belongings and leave the land, you who live under attack.
18For Yahweh says, “Watch out! I will throw out the people living in this land at this time, and I will cause them distress, so they will feel it.”
19How terrible for me because of my injury! My wound is severe. But I said, “This is truly my sorrow, and I must bear it.”
20My tent is destroyed, and all my ropes are broken. My children have left me and are no more. There is no one left to set up my tent or hang my curtains.
21Because the leaders have become foolish and have not asked Yahweh for guidance. That is why they have not succeeded, and all their followers are scattered.
22Listen! News is coming, a great uproar from the north, to turn the cities of Judah into a wasteland, a home for jackals.
23Yahweh, I know that people do not control their own lives; it is not for a person walking to direct their own steps.
24Yahweh, correct me, but with fairness; do not correct me in your anger, or you will reduce me to nothing.
25Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the families that do not worship you; for they have devoured Jacob. Yes, they have devoured him, consumed him, and destroyed his home.