1Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaketh unto you , O house of Israel : 2thus saith Jehovah , Learn not the way of the nations , and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven ; for the nations are dismayed at them . 3For the customs of the peoples are vanity ; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest , the work of the hands of the workman with the axe . 4They deck it with silver and with gold ; they fasten it with nails and with hammers , that it move not . 5They are like a palm-tree, of turned work , and speak not : they must needs be borne , because they cannot go . Be not afraid of them ; for they cannot do evil , neither is it in them to do good . 6There is none like unto thee, O Jehovah ; thou art great , and thy name is great in might . 7Who should not fear thee, O King of the nations ? for to thee doth it appertain ; forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations , and in all their royal estate , there is none like unto thee. 8But they are together brutish and foolish : the instruction of idols ! it is but a stock . 9There is silver beaten into plates , which is brought from Tarshish , and gold from Uphaz, the work of the artificer and of the hands of the goldsmith ; blue and purple for their clothing ; they are all the work of skilful men . 10But Jehovah is the true God ; he is the living God , and an everlasting King : at his wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide his indignation . 11Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens . 12He hath made the earth by his power , he hath established the world by his wisdom , and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens . 13When he uttereth his voice , there is a tumult of waters in the heavens , and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth ; he maketh lightnings for the rain , and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries. 14Every man is become brutish and is without knowledge ; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image ; for his molten image is falsehood , and there is no breath in them . 15They are vanity , a work of delusion : in the time of their visitation they shall perish. 16The portion of Jacob is not like these ; for he is the former of all things ; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance : Jehovah of hosts is his name .
The Sovereignty of God
17Gather up thy wares out of the land, O thou that abidest in the siege . 18For thus saith Jehovah , Behold , I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time , and will distress them , that they may feel it . 19Woe is me because of my hurt ! my wound is grievous : but I said, Truly this is my grief , and I must bear it . 20My tent is destroyed , and all my cords are broken : my children are gone forth from me , and they are not : there is none to spread my tent any more , and to set up my curtains . 21For the shepherds are become brutish , and have not inquired of Jehovah : therefore they have not prospered , and all their flocks are scattered . 22The voice of tidings , behold , it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah a desolation , a dwelling-place of jackals . 23O Jehovah , I know that the way of man is not in himself ; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps . 24O Jehovah , correct me , but in measure ; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing . 25Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not , and upon the families that call not on thy name ; for they have devoured Jacob , yea , they have devoured him and consumed him , and have laid waste his habitation .