11. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;in his arms he gathers the lambs,Carrying them in his bosom,leading the ewes with care.
12. Who has measured with his palm the waters,marked off the heavens with a span,held in his fingers the dust of the earth,weighed the mountains in scalesand the hills in a balance?
13. Who has directed the spirit of the Lord,or instructed him as his counselor?
14. Whom did he consult to gain knowledge?Who taught him the path of judgment,or showed him the way of understanding?
15. See, the nations count as a drop in the bucket,as a wisp of cloud on the scales;the coastlands weigh no more than a speck.
16. Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,nor its animals be enough for burnt offerings.
17. Before him all the nations are as nought,as nothing and void he counts them.
18. To whom can you liken God?With what likeness can you confront him?
19. An idol? An artisan casts it,the smith plates it with gold,fits it with silver chains.
20. Is mulberry wood the offering?A skilled artisan picks outa wood that will not rot,Seeks to set up for himselfan idol that will not totter.
21. Do you not know? Have you not heard?Was it not told you from the beginning?Have you not understood from the founding of the earth?
22. The one who is enthroned above the vault of the earth,its inhabitants like grasshoppers,Who stretches out the heavens like a veiland spreads them out like a tent to dwell in,
23. Who brings princes to noughtand makes the rulers of the earth as nothing.
24. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,scarcely their stem rooted in the earth,When he breathes upon them and they wither,and the stormwind carries them away like straw.