“ Do not make for yourself statues of gods that look like anything in the sky. They may not look like anything on the earth or in the waters either.

“不可为自己雕刻偶像，也不可做什么形像仿佛上天、下地，和地底下、水中的百物。

“不可为自己雕刻偶像，也不可做什么形像，仿佛上天、下地和地底下水中的百物。

“不可为自己雕刻偶像，也不可做什么形像，仿佛上天、下地和地底下水中的百物。

“不可为自己雕刻神像，不可仿照任何飞禽走兽或水族的样子造神像，

“不可为自己做偶像，也不可做天上、地下和地底下水中各物的形象。

「不可為自己雕刻偶像，也不可做甚麼形像彷彿上天、下地，和地底下、水中的百物。

「不可為自己雕刻偶像，也不可做甚麼形像，彷彿上天、下地和地底下水中的百物。

「不可為自己雕刻偶像，也不可做甚麼形像，彷彿上天、下地和地底下水中的百物。

「不可為自己雕刻神像，不可仿照任何飛禽走獸或水族的樣子造神像，

“不可為自己做偶像，也不可做天上、地下和地底下水中各物的形象。

『不可為你自己造雕像，也不可造上天、下地、及地底下水中任何物件的形像。

勿雕偶像、勿造上天下地、地下水中、百物之像、

毋雕偶像、天上地下水中百物、勿作像象之、

毋為己作偶像、上天下地、與地下水中百物、毋作其像、

“ You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

“ You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

“ You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.

Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.

“ You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth.

“ You shall not make for yourself a carved image— any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness[ of any thing] that[ is] in heaven above, or that[ is] in the earth beneath, or that[ is] in the water under the earth:

“ You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below.

“ You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

“‘ Do not make statues of gods for yourselves. Do not set up a likeness of a god or a sacred stone for yourselves. Do not place a carved stone in your land and bow down in front of it. I am the Lord your God.

The Lord spoke to you at Mount Horeb out of the fire. But you didn’t see any shape or form that day. So be very careful.Make sure you don’t commit a horrible sin. Don’t make for yourselves a statue of a god. Don’t make a god that looks like a man or woman or anything else.Don’t make one that looks like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the sky.Don’t make a statue that looks like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish that swims in the water.When you look up at the heavens, you will see the sun and moon. And you will see huge numbers of stars. Don’t let anyone tempt you to bow down to the sun, moon or stars. Don’t worship things the Lord your God has provided for all the nations on earth.

“ May anyone who makes a statue of a god and sets it up in secret be under the Lord’ s curse. That statue is made by a skilled worker. And the Lord hates it.” Then all the people will say,“ Amen!”

All who worship statues of gods or brag about them are put to shame. All you gods, worship the Lord!

“ Yes, we are God’s children. So we shouldn’t think that God is made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn’t a statue planned and made by clever people.

“‘ Do not turn away from me to worship statues of gods. Do not make for yourselves metal statues of gods. I am the Lord your God.

“ Do not make statues of gods that look like anything in the sky or on the earth or in the waters.

All those who make statues of gods will be put to shame. They will be dishonored. They will be led away in shame together.

All of them are foolish. They don’t have any sense. They think they are taught by worthless wooden gods.Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish. Gold is brought from Uphaz. People skilled in working with wood and gold make a statue. Then they put blue and purple clothes on it. The whole thing is made by skilled workers.

No one has any sense or knows anything at all. Everyone who works with gold is put to shame by his gods. The metal gods he has made are fakes. They can’t even breathe.They are worthless things that people make fun of. When the Lord judges them, they will be destroyed.The God of Jacob is not like them. He gives his people everything they need. He made everything that exists. And that includes Israel. They are the people who belong to him. His name is the Lord Who Rules Over All.

The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the land. Ugly and painful sores broke out on people. Those people had the mark of the beast and worshiped its statue.

They would rather have statues of gods than the glorious God who lives forever. Their statues of gods are made to look like people, birds, animals and reptiles.

So I went in and looked. All over the walls were pictures of all kinds of crawling things and“ unclean” animals. The Lord hates it when people worship those things. There were also carvings of the gods of the people of Israel.

But the statues of their gods are made out of silver and gold. They are made by human hands.They have mouths but can’t speak. They have eyes but can’t see.They have ears but can’t hear. They have noses but can’t smell.They have hands but can’t feel. They have feet but can’t walk. They have throats but can’t say anything.Those who make statues of gods will be like them. So will all those who trust in them.

A third angel followed them. He said in a loud voice,“ There will be trouble for anyone who worships the beast and its statue! There will be trouble for anyone who has its mark on their forehead or their hand!They, too, will drink the wine of God’s great anger. His wine has been poured full strength into the cup of his anger. They will be burned with flaming sulfur. The holy angels and the Lamb will see it happen.The smoke of their terrible suffering will rise for ever and ever. Day and night, there will be no rest for anyone who worships the beast and its statue. There will be no rest for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

Be careful. Don’t forget the covenant the Lord your God made with you. Don’t make for yourselves a statue of any god at all. He has told you not to. So don’t do it.The Lord your God is like a fire that burns everything up. He wants you to worship only him.So don’t make a statue of a god. Don’t commit that horrible sin. Don’t do it even after you have had children and grandchildren. Don’t do it even after you have lived in the land a long time. If you do, that will be an evil thing in the sight of the Lord your God. You will make him angry.

You have seen and heard what this fellow Paul is doing. He has talked to large numbers of people here in Ephesus. Almost everywhere in Asia Minor he has led people away from our gods. He says that the gods made by human hands are not gods at all.Our work is in danger of losing its good name. People’s faith in the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be weakened. Now she is worshiped all over Asia Minor and the whole world. But soon she will be robbed of her greatness.”When they heard this, they became very angry. They began shouting,“ Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”Soon people were making trouble in the whole city. They all rushed into the theater. They dragged Gaius and Aristarchus along with them. These two men had come with Paul from Macedonia.Paul wanted to appear in front of the crowd. But the believers wouldn’t let him.Some of the officials in Asia Minor were friends of Paul. They sent him a message, begging him not to go into the theater.The crowd didn’t know what was going on. Some were shouting one thing and some another. Most of the people didn’t even know why they were there.The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front. They tried to tell him what to say. But he motioned for them to be quiet. He was about to give the people reasons for his actions.But then they realized that he was a Jew. So they all shouted the same thing for about two hours.“ Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” they yelled.The city clerk quieted the crowd down.“ People of Ephesus!” he said.“ The city of Ephesus guards the temple of the great Artemis. The whole world knows this. They know that Ephesus guards her statue, which fell from heaven.

Some people trust in statues of gods. They say to them,‘ You are our gods.’ But they will be dishonored. They will be put to shame.

“ I am the Lord. That is my name! I will not let any other god share my glory. I will not let statues of gods share my praise.

Those who make statues of gods don’t amount to anything. And the statues they think so much of are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind. They don’t know anything. So they will be put to shame.People make statues of gods. But those gods can’t do any good.People who do that will be put to shame. Those who make statues of gods are mere human beings. Let all of them come together and state their case. They will be terrified and put to shame.A blacksmith gets his tool. He uses it to shape metal over the burning coals. He uses his hammers to make a statue of a god. He forms it with his powerful arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength. He doesn’t drink any water. He gets weaker and weaker.A carpenter measures a piece of wood with a line. He draws a pattern on it with a marker. He cuts out a statue with sharp tools. He marks it with compasses. He shapes it into the form of a beautiful human being. He does this so he can put it in a temple.He cuts down a cedar tree. Or perhaps he takes a cypress or an oak tree. It might be a tree that grew in the forest. Or it might be a pine tree he planted. And the rain made it grow.A man gets wood from trees to burn. He uses some of it to warm himself. He starts a fire and bakes bread. But he also uses some of it to make a god and worship it. He makes a statue of a god and bows down to it.He burns half of the wood in the fire. He prepares a meal over it. He cooks meat over it. He eats until he is full. He also warms himself. He says,“ Good! I’m getting warm. The fire is nice and hot.”From the rest of the wood he makes a statue. It becomes his god. He bows down and worships it. He prays to it. He says,“ Save me! You are my god!”People like that don’t even know what they are doing. Their eyes are shut so that they can’t see the truth. Their minds are closed so that they can’t understand it.No one even stops to think about this. No one has any sense or understanding. If anyone did, they would say,“ I used half of the wood for fuel. I even baked bread over the fire. I cooked meat. Then I ate it. Should I now make a statue of a god out of the wood that’s left over? Should I bow down to a block of wood? The Lord would hate that.”That’s as foolish as eating ashes! The mind of someone like that has led him astray. He can’t save himself. He can’t bring himself to say,“ This thing I’m holding in my right hand isn’t really a god at all.”

“ Who will you compare me with? Who is equal to me? What am I like? Who can you compare me with?Some people pour out gold from their bags. They weigh out silver on the scales. They hire someone who works with gold to make it into a god. They bow down to it and worship it.They lift it up on their shoulders and carry it. They set it up in its place, and there it stands. It can’t move from that spot. Someone might cry out to it. But it does not answer. It can’t save them from their troubles.So remember this, you who refuse to obey me. Keep it in your minds and hearts.

So who will you compare God with? Is there any other god like him?Will you compare him with a statue of a god? Anyone who works with metal can make a statue. Then another worker covers it with gold and makes silver chains for it.But someone who is too poor to bring that kind of offering will choose some wood that won’t rot. Then they look for a skilled worker. They pay the worker to make a statue of a god that won’t fall over.

There were people who were not killed by these plagues. But they still didn’t turn away from what they had been doing. They did not stop worshiping demons. They kept worshiping statues of gods made out of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood. These statues can’t see or hear or walk.

The practices of these nations are worthless. People cut a tree out of the forest. A skilled worker shapes the wood with a sharp tool.Others decorate it with silver and gold. They use a hammer to nail it to the floor. They want to keep it from falling down.The statues of their gods can’t speak. They are like scarecrows in a field of cucumbers. Their statues have to be carried around because they can’t walk. So do not be afraid of their gods. They can’t do you any harm. And they can’t do you any good either.”

The statues of the nations’ gods are made out of silver and gold. They are made by human hands.They have mouths but can’t speak. They have eyes but can’t see.They have ears but can’t hear. They have mouths but can’t breathe.Those who make statues of gods will be like them. So will all those who trust in them.

So King Jeroboam asked for advice. Then he made two golden statues that looked like calves. He said to the people,“ It’s too hard for you to go up to Jerusalem. Israel, here are your gods who brought you up out of Egypt.”

Manasseh had carved a statue of a god. He put it in God’s temple. God had spoken to David and his son Solomon about the temple. He had said,“ My Name will be in this temple and in Jerusalem forever. Out of all the cities in the tribes of Israel I have chosen Jerusalem.

The first beast had given the second beast the power to perform these signs. By these signs, the second beast tricked those who live on the earth. The second beast ordered people to set up a statue to honor the first beast. The first beast was the one who had been wounded by a sword and still lived.The second beast was allowed to give breath to this statue so it could speak. The statue could kill all who refused to worship it.

They said to me,‘ Make us a god that will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him.’

They have quickly turned away from what I commanded them. They have made themselves a metal statue of a god in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down and sacrificed to it. And they have said,‘ Israel, here is your god who brought you up out of Egypt.’

The people saw that Moses took a long time to come down from the mountain. So they gathered around Aaron. They said to him,“ Come. Make us a god that will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him.”

“ Do not make any statues of gods.