19 yAn idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
20 zHe who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood1 that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.
[1] 40:20
and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 wThe craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,
and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
and they strengthen it with nails xso that it cannot be moved.
6 tThose who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
uthen they fall down and worship!
7 vThey lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
wit cannot move from its place.
18 p“What profit is an idol
a metal image, qa teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes rspeechless idols!
3 ffor the customs of the peoples are vanity.1
gA tree from the forest is cut down
and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
4 hThey decorate it with silver and gold;
ithey fasten it with hammer and nails
5 Their idols2 are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and jthey cannot speak;
kthey have to be carried,
lfor they cannot do evil,