At one time you didn’t know God. You were slaves to gods that are really not gods at all.

但从前你们不认识神的时候，是给那些本来不是神的作奴仆；

但从前不认识上帝的时候，你们是给那些本来不是上帝的神明作奴隶；

但从前不认识神的时候，你们是给那些本来不是神的神明作奴隶；

从前，你们不认识上帝，做那些假神的奴隶。

从前你们不认识神的时候，是给那些本来不是神的作奴仆；

从前，你们不认识神的时候，固然给那些本性上不是神的做了奴仆，

但從前你們不認識神的時候，是給那些本來不是神的作奴僕；

但從前不認識上帝的時候，你們是給那些本來不是上帝的神明作奴隸；

但從前不認識神的時候，你們是給那些本來不是神的神明作奴隸；

從前，你們不認識上帝，做那些假神的奴隸。

從前你們不認識神的時候，是給那些本來不是神的作奴僕；

但從前你們不認識上帝的時候，是給那些本性不是神的做奴僕。

從前，你們不認識神的時候，固然給那些本性上不是神的做了奴僕，

昔爾不識上帝、役於本非神者、

昔爾不識上帝、非上帝反服事之、

昔爾不識天主、所事之神、本非天主、

然曩日爾未識天主、猶為偽神所奴；

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.

Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so called gods that do not even exist.

But in the past, since you didn’t know God, you were enslaved to things that by nature are not gods.

However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are not gods.

But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods.

Howbeit at that time, not knowing God, ye were in bondage to them that by nature are no gods:

But in the past, when you didn’t know God, you were enslaved to things that by nature are not gods.

Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.

Formerly when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all.

However at that time, not knowing God, you were in bondage to those who by nature are not gods.

Don’t desire to commit sexual sins like people who don’t know God.

So then, here is what I say about eating food sacrificed to statues of gods. We know that“ a god made by human hands is really nothing at all in the world.” We know that“ there is only one God.”

You who are not Jews by birth, here is what I want you to remember. You are called“ uncircumcised” by those who call themselves“ circumcised.” But they have only been circumcised in their bodies by human hands.Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world.

He will punish those who don’t know God. He will punish those who don’t obey the good news about our Lord Jesus.

They have thrown the statues of the gods of those nations into the fire. And they have destroyed them. That’s because they weren’t really gods at all. They were nothing but statues made out of wood and stone. They were made by human hands.

You have spent enough time in the past doing what ungodly people choose to do. You lived a wild life. You longed for evil things. You got drunk. You went to wild parties. You worshiped statues of gods, which the Lord hates.

But you drove out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron. You also drove out the Levites. You appointed your own priests. That’s what the people of other nations do. Anyone can come and set himself apart. All he has to do is sacrifice a young bull and seven rams. Then he becomes a priest of gods that aren’t really gods at all!

The believers themselves report the kind of welcome you gave us. They tell about how you turned away from statues of gods. And you turned to serve the living and true God.

Do I mean that food sacrificed to a statue of a god is anything? Do I mean that a statue of a god is anything?No! But what is sacrificed by those who worship statues of gods is really sacrificed to demons. It is not sacrificed to God. I don’t want you to be sharing with demons.

God wisely planned that the world would not know him through its own wisdom. It pleased God to use the foolish things we preach to save those who believe.

Pour out your great anger on the nations. They don’t pay any attention to you. They refuse to worship you. They have destroyed the people of Jacob. They’ve wiped them out completely. They’ve also destroyed the land they lived in.

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.”

They can’t understand the truth. They are separated from the life of God. That’s because they don’t know him. And they don’t know him because their hearts are stubborn.

But suppose you don’t want to serve him. Then choose for yourselves right now whom you will serve. You can choose the gods your people served east of the Euphrates River. Or you can serve the gods of the Amorites. After all, you are living in their land. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua spoke to all the people. He said,“ The Lord is the God of Israel. He says,‘ Long ago your people lived east of the Euphrates River. They worshiped other gods there. Your people included Terah. He was the father of Abraham and Nahor.

Pharaoh said,“ Who is the Lord? Why should I obey him? Why should I let Israel go? I don’t even know the Lord. And I won’t let Israel go.”

You know that at one time you were unbelievers. You were somehow drawn away to worship statues of gods that couldn’t even speak.

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.”Lord, no one is like you. You are great. You are mighty and powerful.King of the nations, everyone should have respect for you. That’s what people should give you. Among all the wise leaders of the nations there is no one like you. No one can compare with you in all their kingdoms.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.But you are the only true God. You are the only living God. You are the King who rules forever. When you are angry, the earth trembles with fear. The nations can’t stand up under your anger.The Lord speaks to the Jews living in Babylon. He says,“ Here is what you must tell the people of the nations. Tell them,‘ Your gods did not make the heavens and the earth. In fact, these gods will disappear from the earth. They will vanish from under the heavens.’ ”But God used his power to make the earth. His wisdom set the world in place. His understanding spread out the heavens.When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar. He makes clouds rise from one end of the earth to the other. He sends lightning along with the rain. He brings the wind out from his storerooms.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.

See what amazing love the Father has given us! Because of it, we are called children of God. And that’s what we really are! The world doesn’t know us because it didn’t know him.

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.

Has a nation ever changed its gods? Actually, they are not even gods at all. But my people have traded away their glorious God. They have traded me for worthless statues of gods.

“ 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.In the past, God didn’t judge people for what they didn’t know. But now he commands all people everywhere to turn away from their sins.

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.

As I walked around, I looked carefully at the things you worship. I even found an altar with to an unknown god written on it. So you don’t know what you are worshiping. Now I am going to tell you about this‘ unknown god.’

They called Barnabas Zeus. Paul was the main speaker. So they called him Hermes.

They didn’t think it was important to know God. So God let them continue to have evil thoughts. They did things they shouldn’t do.

The Word was in the world. And the world was made through him. But the world did not recognize him.

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.