19. No, but some people make statues from rock or wood, and they call them gods. One worker makes a statue. Then another worker covers it with gold and makes silver chains for it.
20. For the base he chooses special wood, a kind of wood that will not rot. Then he finds a good wood worker, and the worker makes a “god” that will not fall over.
21. Surely you know the truth, don’t you? Surely you have heard. Surely someone told you long ago. Surely you understand who made the earth.
22. It is the Lord who sits above the circle of the earth. And compared to him, people are like grasshoppers. He rolled open the skies like a piece of cloth. He stretched out the skies like a tent to sit under.
23. He takes away the power of rulers. He makes the world’s leaders completely worthless.
24. They are like plants that are planted in the ground. But before they can send their roots into the ground, God blows on the “plants”; they become dead and dry, and the wind blows them away like straw.
25. The Holy One says, “Can you compare me to anyone? No one is equal to me.”
26. Look up to the skies. Who created all those stars? Who created all those “armies” in the sky? Who knows every star by name? He is very strong and powerful, so not one of these stars is lost.
27. People of Jacob, this is true. Israel, you should believe it. So why do you say, “The Lord cannot see the way I live; he will not find me and punish me”?