6. But yet, for these the blame is less;For they have gone astray perhaps,though they seek God and wish to find him.
7. For they search busily among his works,but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair.
8. But again, not even these are pardonable.
9. For if they so far succeeded in knowledgethat they could speculate about the world,how did they not more quickly find its Lord?
10. But wretched are they, and in dead things are their hopes,who termed gods things made by human hands:Gold and silver, the product of art, and images of beasts,or useless stone, the work of an ancient hand.
11. A carpenter may cut down a suitable treeand skillfully scrape off all its bark,And deftly plying his artproduce something fit for daily use,
12. And use the scraps from his handiworkin preparing his food, and have his fill;
13. Then the good-for-nothing refuse from these remnants,crooked wood grown full of knots,he takes and carves to occupy his spare time.This wood he models with mindless skill,and patterns it on the image of a human being
14. or makes it resemble some worthless beast.When he has daubed it with red and crimsoned its surface with red stain,and daubed over every blemish in it,
15. He makes a fitting shrine for itand puts it on the wall, fastening it with a nail.
16. Thus he provides for it lest it fall down,knowing that it cannot help itself;for, truly, it is an image and needs help.