2. The Lord proclaims:Don’t follow the ways of the nationsor be troubled by signs in the sky,even though the nations are troubled by them.
3. The rituals of the nations are hollow:a tree from the forest is chopped downand shaped by the craftsman’s tools.
4. It’s overlaid with silver and gold,and fastened securely with hammer and nailsso it won’t fall over.
5. They are no different than a scarecrowin a cucumber patch:they can’t speak;they must be carriedbecause they can’t walk.Don’t be afraid of them,because they can’t do harm or good.
6. Lord, no one is like you!You are great,and great is your mighty name.
7. Who wouldn’t fear you,king of the nations?That is your due;among all the wise of the nationsand in all their countries,there is no one like you!
8. But they are both foolish and silly;they offer nothingbecause they are mere wood.
9. Covered with silver from Tarshishand gold from Uphaz,they are the work of a craftsmanand the hands of a goldsmith.Clothed in blue and purple,all of them nothing more than the work of artisans.
10. But the Lord is the true God!He’s the living God and the everlasting king!When he’s angry, the earth quakes;the nations can’t endure his rage.
11. Tell them this: The gods who didn’t make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.
12. But God made the earth by his might;he shaped the world by his wisdom,crafted the skies by his knowledge.
13. At the sound of his voice,the heavenly waters roar.He raises the clouds from the ends of the earth.He sends the lightning with the rain,the wind from his treasuries.