You say to a piece of wood,‘ You are my father.’ You say to a stone,‘ You are my mother.’ You have turned your backs to me. You refuse to look at me. But when you are in trouble, you say,‘ Come and save us!’

他们向木头说：‘你是我的父’；向石头说：‘你是生我的。’他们以背向我，不以面向我；及至遭遇患难的时候却说：‘起来拯救我们。’

他们向木头说：‘你是我的父’；向石头说：‘你是生我的。’他们以背向我，不肯以面向我；及至遭遇患难时却说：‘起来拯救我们吧！’

他们向木头说：‘你是我的父’；向石头说：‘你是生我的。’他们以背向我，不肯以面向我；及至遭遇患难时却说：‘起来拯救我们吧！’

你们认木头为父，认石头为母。你们不是面向我而是背对我，危难时却向我求救。

他们对木头说：‘你是我爸爸’；对石头说：‘你是生我的’。他们以背向我，不以脸向我；然而遭遇患难时却说：‘起来，救救我们吧！’

他們向木頭說：你是我的父；向石頭說：你是生我的。他們以背向我，不以面向我；及至遭遇患難的時候卻說：起來拯救我們。

他們向木頭說：『你是我的父』；向石頭說：『你是生我的。』他們以背向我，不肯以面向我；及至遭遇患難時卻說：『起來拯救我們吧！』

他們向木頭說：『你是我的父』；向石頭說：『你是生我的。』他們以背向我，不肯以面向我；及至遭遇患難時卻說：『起來拯救我們吧！』

你們認木頭為父，認石頭為母。你們不是面向我而是背對我，危難時卻向我求救。

他們對木頭說：‘你是我爸爸’；對石頭說：‘你是生我的’。他們以背向我，不以臉向我；然而遭遇患難時卻說：‘起來，救救我們吧！’

他們對樹榦說：「你是我的父」，對石頭說：「你是生我的」。他們是以背向着我，不是以面；到遭遇患難時，他們卻說：「起來，拯救我們哦！」

彼謂木曰、爾為我父、謂石曰、爾乃生我、且背我而不面我、惟遭患難、則曰起而援我、

彼稱木為父、稱石為母、居恆之際、則背逆乎我、患難之時、則求予援手。

彼向木曰、爾為我父、向石曰、爾生我、彼向我以背、不向我以面、及至遭難、則曰、求主起而救我、

They say to wood,‘ You are my father,’ and to stone,‘ You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say,‘ Come and save us!’

who say to a tree,‘ You are my father,’ and to a stone,‘ You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they say,‘ Arise and save us!’

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!’

say to a tree,“ You are my father,” and to a stone,“ You gave birth to me.” For they have turned their back to me and not their face, yet in their time of disaster they beg,“ Rise up and save us!”

Who say to a tree,‘ You are my father,’ And to a stone,‘ You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their backs to Me, And not their faces; But in the time of their trouble they will say,‘ Arise and save us!’

Saying to a tree,‘ You are my father,’ And to a stone,‘ You gave birth to me.’ For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble They will say,‘ Arise and save us.’

who say to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face; but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.

say to a tree,“ You are my father,” and to a stone,“ You gave birth to me.” For they have turned their back to Me and not their face, yet in their time of disaster they beg,“ Rise up and save us!”

Saying to a stock, Thou[ art] my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned[ their] back unto me, and not[ their] face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.

They say to a wooden idol,‘ You are my father.’ They say to a stone image,‘ You gave birth to me.’ Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. Yet when they are in trouble, they say,‘ Come and save us!’

who tell wood,‘ You are my father,’ and a stone,‘ You have given birth to me,’ for they have turned their back to me, and not their face; but in the time of their trouble they will say,‘ Arise, and save us!’

Lord, when your people were suffering, they came to you. When you punished them, they could barely whisper a prayer.

They do not cry out to me from their hearts. Instead, they just lie on their beds and sob. They cut themselves when they pray to their gods for grain and fresh wine. But they turn away from me.

They turned their backs to me. They would not face me. I taught them again and again. But they would not listen or pay attention when they were corrected.

That year they broke Israel’s power completely. They treated the Israelites badly for 18 years. The people who did this lived east of the Jordan River. They lived in Gilead. That was the land of the Amorites.The Ammonites also went across the Jordan. They crossed over to fight against the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim. Israel was suffering terribly.Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord. They said,“ We have sinned against you. We have deserted our God. We have served gods that are named Baal.”The Lord replied,“ The Egyptians and Amorites treated you badly. So did the Ammonites and Philistines.And so did the Amalekites and the people of Sidon and Maon. Each time you cried out to me for help. And I saved you from their power.But you have deserted me. You have served other gods. So I will not save you anymore.Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you get into trouble!”But the Israelites replied to the Lord,“ We have sinned. Do to us what you think is best. But please save us now.”Then they got rid of the false gods that were among them. They served the Lord. And he couldn’t stand to see Israel suffer anymore.

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.”

I will sweep over my people like a wind from the east. I will use the Babylonians to scatter them. I will show them my back and not my face. I will desert them when their day of trouble comes.’ ”

Every time God killed some of them, the others would seek him. They gladly turned back to him again.They remembered that God was their Rock. They remembered that God Most High had set them free.But they didn’t mean it when they praised him. They lied to him when they spoke.They turned away from him. They weren’t faithful to the covenant he had made with them.

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.

So the Lord and King says,“ You have forgotten me. You have turned your back on me. You have been impure. You have acted like a prostitute. So I will punish you.”

Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of the Lord’ s house. About 25 men were there. They were at the entrance to the Lord’ s temple between the porch and the altar. Their backs were turned toward the temple. Their faces were turned toward the east. And they were bowing down to the sun.

Some of you live in Jerusalem in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. You are comfortable in your cedar buildings. But you will groan when pain comes on you. It will be like the pain of a woman having a baby.

You are like a wild donkey that lives in the desert. She smells the wind when she longs for a mate. Who can hold her back? The males that run after her do not need to wear themselves out. At mating time they will easily find her.

All of them are foolish. They don’t have any sense. They think they are taught by worthless wooden gods.

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.

I will go back to my lion’s den. I will stay there until they pay the price for their sin. Then they will turn to me. They will suffer so much that they will really want me to help them.”

“ 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.How terrible it will be for the Babylonians! They say to a wooden god,‘ Come to life!’ They say to a stone god,‘ Wake up!’ Can those gods give advice? They are covered with gold and silver. They can’t even breathe.”