9. Zion, you have good news to tell. Go up on a high mountain and shout the good news. Jerusalem, you have good news to tell. Don’t be afraid; speak loudly. Tell this news to all the cities of Judah: “Look, here is your God!”
10. The Lord GOD is coming with power. He will use his power to rule all the people. He will bring rewards for his people. He will have their payment with him.
11. Like a good shepherd, he takes care of his people. He gathers them like lambs in his arms. He holds them close, while their mothers walk beside him.
12. Who measured the oceans in the palm of his hand? Who used his hand to measure the sky? Who used a bowl to measure all the dust of the earth? Who used scales to measure the mountains and hills?
13. Who could know the Lord’S mind? Who could be his teacher or give him advice?
14. Did the Lord ask for anyone’s help? Did anyone teach him to be fair? Did anyone teach him knowledge? Did anyone teach him to be wise?
15. Look, all the nations in the world are like one small drop in the bucket. If the Lord took all the faraway nations and put them on his scales, they would be like small pieces of dust.
16. All the trees in Lebanon are not enough to burn on the altar for the Lord. And all the animals in Lebanon are not enough to kill for a sacrifice.
17. Compared to God, all the nations of the world are nothing. Compared to him, they are worth nothing at all.
18. Can you compare God to anything? Can you make a picture of God?
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.