“ Gather together and come, you fugitives from surrounding nations. What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols and pray to gods that cannot save!

“你们从列国逃脱的人，要一同聚集前来。那些抬着雕刻木偶、祷告不能救人之神的，毫无知识。

“你们从列国逃脱的人，要一同聚集前来。那些抬着雕刻的木偶、祈求不能救人之神明的，毫无知识。

“你们从列国逃脱的人，要一同聚集前来。那些抬着雕刻的木偶、祈求不能救人之神明的，毫无知识。

“列国的流亡者啊，你们要聚集到这里来。那些抬着木头神像、向不能救人的神明祷告的人真愚昧！

“列国逃脱的人哪！你们要来集合，一同近前来。那些抬着木头做的偶像，向不能拯救人的神祈求的，真是无知。

“从列国逃脱的人哪，聚集而来，一同近前吧——他们抬着木头雕刻的偶像，向不能拯救人的神祷告，真是无知

你們從列國逃脫的人，要一同聚集前來。那些擡着雕刻木偶、禱告不能救人之神的，毫無知識。

「你們從列國逃脫的人，要一同聚集前來。那些抬着雕刻的木偶、祈求不能救人之神明的，毫無知識。

「你們從列國逃脫的人，要一同聚集前來。那些抬着雕刻的木偶、祈求不能救人之神明的，毫無知識。

「列國的流亡者啊，你們要聚集到這裡來。那些抬著木頭神像、向不能救人的神明禱告的人真愚昧！

“列國逃脫的人哪！你們要來集合，一同近前來。那些抬著木頭做的偶像，向不能拯救人的神祈求的，真是無知。

『列國逃脫的人哪，集合攏來，一同走近前哦！那些抬着木頭雕像的、直禱告那不能救人之神的、毫無知識。

「從列國逃脫的人哪，聚集而來，一同近前吧——他們抬著木頭雕刻的偶像，向不能拯救人的神禱告，真是無知

列邦免難之民、其集而至、惟彼舁其木偶、禱於不能施救之神者、悉屬無知、

列國流離之民、當大和會、群聽斯言、木偶之上帝、不能救民、凡輦斯像而禱之者、其愚甚矣。

爾自列邦得脫者、俱集而至、同就以聽斯言、惟彼攜其木偶、禱不能施救之神者、悉屬無知、

“ Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.

“ Come together, you people of the nations who escaped from Babylon. Gather together and come into court. Only people who do not know anything would carry around gods that are made out of wood. They pray to false gods that can’t save them.

“ Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.

“ Come, gather together, and approach, you fugitives of the nations. Those who carry their wooden idols and pray to a god who cannot save have no knowledge.

“ Gather yourselves and come; Come together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge, Who carry around their wooden idol And pray to a god who cannot save.

“ Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save.

Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

“ Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives of the nations. Those who carry their wooden idols, and pray to a god who cannot save, have no knowledge.

Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye[ that are] escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god[ that] cannot save.

Gather together and come! Approach together, you refugees from the nations! Those who carry wooden idols know nothing, those who pray to a god that cannot deliver.

“ Assemble yourselves and come. Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations. Those have no knowledge who carry the wood of their engraved image, and pray to a god that can’t save.

Gather the nations together! Assemble the peoples of the world! Which of their idols has ever foretold such things? Which can predict what will happen tomorrow? Where are the witnesses of such predictions? Who can verify that they spoke the truth?

Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.”

Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it.“ Rescue me!” he says.“ You are my god!”Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.The person who made the idol never stops to reflect,“ Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask,“ Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”

And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.

Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon, bow as they are lowered to the ground. They are being hauled away on ox carts. The poor beasts stagger under the weight.

Flee from Babylon! Save yourselves! Don’t get trapped in her punishment! It is the Lord’s time for vengeance; he will repay her in full.Babylon has been a gold cup in the Lord’s hands, a cup that made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank Babylon’s wine, and it drove them all mad.But suddenly Babylon, too, has fallen. Weep for her. Give her medicine. Perhaps she can yet be healed.We would have helped her if we could, but nothing can save her now. Let her go; abandon her. Return now to your own land. For her punishment reaches to the heavens; it is so great it cannot be measured.

The lands beyond the sea watch in fear. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war.The idol makers encourage one another, saying to each other,“ Be strong!”

Listen to the people who have escaped from Babylon, as they tell in Jerusalem how the Lord our God has taken vengeance against those who destroyed his Temple.

“ Present the case for your idols,” says the Lord.“ Let them show what they can do,” says the King of Israel.

But those who trust in idols, who say,‘ You are our gods,’ will be turned away in shame.“ Listen, you who are deaf! Look and see, you blind!

To an image carved from a piece of wood they say,‘ You are my father.’ To an idol chiseled from a block of stone they say,‘ You are my mother.’ They turn their backs on me, but in times of trouble they cry out to me,‘ Come and save us!’But why not call on these gods you have made? When trouble comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are towns in Judah.

This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me:“ Take from my hand this cup filled to the brim with my anger, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it.When they drink from it, they will stagger, crazed by the warfare I will send against them.”So I took the cup of anger from the Lord and made all the nations drink from it— every nation to which the Lord sent me.I went to Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah, and their kings and officials drank from the cup. From that day until this, they have been a desolate ruin, an object of horror, contempt, and cursing.I gave the cup to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials, and all his people,along with all the foreigners living in that land. I also gave it to all the kings of the land of Uz and the kings of the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod.Then I gave the cup to the nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon,and the kings of Tyre and Sidon, and the kings of the regions across the sea.I gave it to Dedan, Tema, and Buz, and to the people who live in distant places.I gave it to the kings of Arabia, the kings of the nomadic tribes of the desert,and to the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media.And I gave it to the kings of the northern countries, far and near, one after the other— all the kingdoms of the world. And finally, the king of Babylon himself drank from the cup of the Lord’s anger.Then the Lord said to me,“ Now tell them,‘ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink from this cup of my anger. Get drunk and vomit; fall to rise no more, for I am sending terrible wars against you.’And if they refuse to accept the cup, tell them,‘ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: You have no choice but to drink from it.I have begun to punish Jerusalem, the city that bears my name. Now should I let you go unpunished? No, you will not escape disaster. I will call for war against all the nations of the earth. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!’

That is why I told you what would happen; I told you beforehand what I was going to do. Then you could never say,‘ My idols did it. My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!’You have heard my predictions and seen them fulfilled, but you refuse to admit it. Now I will tell you new things, secrets you have not yet heard.They are brand new, not things from the past. So you cannot say,‘ We knew that all the time!’

The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge! The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make, for their carefully shaped works are a fraud. These idols have no breath or power.Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed.

People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood!

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

So they prepared one of the bulls and placed it on the altar. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noontime, shouting,“ O Baal, answer us!” But there was no reply of any kind. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made.About noontime Elijah began mocking them.“ You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed,“ for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out.They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response.

For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of her passionate immorality. The kings of the world have committed adultery with her. Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich.”Then I heard another voice calling from heaven,“ Come away from her, my people. Do not take part in her sins, or you will be punished with her.For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God remembers her evil deeds.Do to her as she has done to others. Double her penalty for all her evil deeds. She brewed a cup of terror for others, so brew twice as much for her.She glorified herself and lived in luxury, so match it now with torment and sorrow. She boasted in her heart,‘ I am queen on my throne. I am no helpless widow, and I have no reason to mourn.’Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day— death and mourning and famine. She will be completely consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty.”And the kings of the world who committed adultery with her and enjoyed her great luxury will mourn for her as they see the smoke rising from her charred remains.They will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will cry out,“ How terrible, how terrible for you, O Babylon, you great city! In a single moment God’s judgment came on you.”The merchants of the world will weep and mourn for her, for there is no one left to buy their goods.She bought great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet cloth; things made of fragrant thyine wood, ivory goods, and objects made of expensive wood; and bronze, iron, and marble.She also bought cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, wagons, and bodies— that is, human slaves.“ The fancy things you loved so much are gone,” they cry.“ All your luxuries and splendor are gone forever, never to be yours again.”The merchants who became wealthy by selling her these things will stand at a distance, terrified by her great torment. They will weep and cry out,“ How terrible, how terrible for that great city! She was clothed in finest purple and scarlet linens, decked out with gold and precious stones and pearls!In a single moment all the wealth of the city is gone!” And all the captains of the merchant ships and their passengers and sailors and crews will stand at a distance.They will cry out as they watch the smoke ascend, and they will say,“ Where is there another city as great as this?”

In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.

“ What good is an idol carved by man, or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation— a god that can’t even talk!What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,‘ Wake up and save us!’ To speechless stone images you say,‘ Rise up and teach us!’ Can an idol tell you what to do? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside.But the Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.”

The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge! The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make, for their carefully shaped works are a fraud. These idols have no breath or power.

Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. Then they bow down and worship it!They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It can’t even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer. It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.

But in that day, the branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious; the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of all who survive in Israel.