Their calf is not God. A skilled worker from Israel made it. But that calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.”

这牛犊出于以色列，是匠人所造的，并不是神。撒玛利亚的牛犊必被打碎。

因这牛犊是出于以色列，是匠人所造的，并不是上帝。撒玛利亚的牛犊必被打碎。

因这牛犊是出于以色列，是匠人所造的，并不是神。撒玛利亚的牛犊必被打碎。

这牛犊是以色列的工匠造的，并不是神，必被砸得粉碎。

这牛犊是出于以色列，是匠人所做的，它并不是神，撒玛利亚的牛犊必被粉碎。

這牛犢出於以色列，是匠人所造的，並不是神。撒馬利亞的牛犢必被打碎。

因這牛犢是出於以色列，是匠人所造的，並不是上帝。撒瑪利亞的牛犢必被打碎。

因這牛犢是出於以色列，是匠人所造的，並不是神。撒瑪利亞的牛犢必被打碎。

這牛犢是以色列的工匠造的，並不是神，必被砸得粉碎。

這牛犢是出於以色列，是匠人所做的，它並不是神，撒瑪利亞的牛犢必被粉碎。

那牛犢像是匠人造的，並不是神。撒瑪利亞的牛犢像必定成了碎片。

斯犢出於以色列、工匠所造、非上帝也、撒瑪利亞之犢、必見破碎、

作斯犢像者、以色列之工人也、彼非上帝、故必見毀、

斯犢出於以色列、工人所作、非主也、撒瑪利亞之犢、必見毀碎、

They are from Israel! This calf— a metalworker has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.

For it is from Israel; a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

This calf you worship, O Israel, was crafted by your own hands! It is not God! Therefore, it must be smashed to bits.

For this thing is from Israel— a craftsman made it, and it is not God. The calf of Samaria will be smashed to bits!

For from Israel comes even this! A craftsman made it, so it is not God; Assuredly, the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.

For from Israel is even this: A workman made it, and it is not God; But the calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

For from Israel is even this; the workman made it, and it is no God; yea, the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

For this thing is from Israel— a craftsman made it, and it is not God. The calf of Samaria will be smashed to bits!

For from Israel[ was] it also: the workman made it; therefore it[ is] not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

That idol was made by a workman– it is not God! The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.

For this is even from Israel! The workman made it, and it is no God; indeed, the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

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.

Their hearts are dishonest. So now they must pay for their sins. The Lord will tear down their altars. He’ll destroy their sacred stones.

Josiah went to the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon. He went all the way to Naphtali. He also went to the destroyed places around all those towns.Everywhere Josiah went he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles. He crushed the statues of gods to powder. He cut to pieces all the altars for burning incense. He destroyed all those things everywhere in Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

“ Announce this message among the nations. Lift up a banner. Let the nations hear the message. Do not keep anything back. Say,‘ Babylon will be captured. The god named Bel will be put to shame. The god named Marduk will be filled with terror. Babylon’s gods will be put to shame. The gods its people made will be filled with terror.’

“ If someone carves a statue of a god, what is it worth? What value is there in a god that teaches lies? The one who trusts in this kind of god worships his own creation. He makes statues of gods that can’t speak.

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.

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.”

At Mount Horeb they made a metal statue of a bull calf. They worshiped that statue of a god.They traded their glorious God for a statue of a bull that eats grass.

“ 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.

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.

The Passover Feast came to an end. The people of Israel who were in Jerusalem went out to the towns of Judah. They smashed the sacred stones. They cut down the poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. They destroyed the high places and the altars. They did those things all through Judah and Benjamin. They also did them in Ephraim and Manasseh. They destroyed all the objects used to worship other gods. Then the Israelites returned to their own towns and property.

There was an altar at Bethel. It was at the high place made by Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit sin. Even that altar and high place were destroyed by Josiah. He burned the high place. He ground it into powder. He also burned the Asherah pole.

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.

Josiah did in the rest of the northern kingdom the same things he had done at Bethel. He removed all the small temples at the high places. He made them“ unclean.” The kings of Israel had built them in the towns of the northern kingdom. The people in those towns had made the Lord very angry.

The people who live in Samaria are filled with fear. They are afraid for their god that looks like a calf. They’re afraid it will be carried off from Beth Aven, that evil town. They will mourn over it. So will the priests who led them to worship it. The priests were full of joy because their statue was so glorious. But it will be captured and taken far away from them.It will be carried off to Assyria. The people of Ephraim will be forced to give it to the great king. They will be dishonored. Israel will be ashamed of its agreements with other nations.

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.

He will set the temples of the gods of Egypt on fire. He will burn down their temples. He will take away the statues of their gods. Nebuchadnezzar will be like a shepherd who picks his coat clean of lice. Nebuchadnezzar will pick Egypt clean and then depart.At Heliopolis in Egypt he will smash the sacred pillars to pieces. And he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.” ’ ”