King James Version KJV
Good News Translation GNT
1 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
1 People of Israel, listen to the message that the Lord has for you.
2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
2 He says, "Do not follow the ways of other nations; do not be disturbed by unusual sights in the sky, even though other nations are terrified.
3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
3 The religion of these people is worthless. A tree is cut down in the forest; it is carved by the tools of the woodworker
4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
4 and decorated with silver and gold. It is fastened down with nails to keep it from falling over.
5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a field of melons; they cannot speak; they have to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them: they can cause you no harm, and they can do you no good."
6 Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
6 Lord, there is no one like you; you are mighty, and your name is great and powerful.
7 Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.
7 Who would not honor you, the king of all nations? You deserve to be honored. There is no one like you among all the wise men of the nations or among any of their kings.
8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.
8 All of them are stupid and foolish. What can they learn from wooden idols?
9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.
9 Their idols are covered with silver from Spain and with gold from Uphaz, all the work of artists; they are dressed in violet and purple cloth woven by skilled weavers.
10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
10 But you, Lord, are the true God, you are the living God and the eternal king. When you are angry, the world trembles; the nations cannot endure your anger.
11 Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
11 (You people must tell them that the gods who did not make the earth and the sky will be destroyed. They will no longer exist anywhere on earth.)
12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
12 The Lord made the earth by his power; by his wisdom he created the world and stretched out the heavens.
13 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
13 At his command the waters above the sky roar; he brings clouds from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning flash in the rain and sends the wind from his storeroom.
14 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
14 At the sight of this, people feel stupid and senseless; those who make idols are disillusioned, because the gods they make are false and lifeless.
15 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
15 They are worthless and should be despised; they will be destroyed when the Lord comes to deal with them.
16 The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
16 The God of Jacob is not like them; he is the one who made everything, and he has chosen Israel to be his very own people. The Lord Almighty is his name.
17 Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
17 People of Jerusalem, you are under siege! Gather up your belongings.
18 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.
18 The Lord is going to throw you out of this land; he is going to crush you until not one of you is left. The Lord has spoken.
19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
19 The people of Jerusalem cried out, "How badly we are hurt! Our wounds will not heal. And we thought this was something we could endure!
20 My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
20 Our tents are ruined; the ropes that held them have broken. Our children have all gone away; there is no one left to put up our tents again; there is no one to hang their curtains."
21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
21 I answered, "Our leaders are stupid; they do not ask the Lord for guidance. This is why they have failed, and our people have been scattered.
22 Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.
22 Listen! News has come! There is a great commotion in a nation to the north; its army will turn the cities of Judah into a desert, a place where jackals live."
23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
23 Lord, I know that none of us are in charge of our own destiny; none of us have control over our own life.
24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
24 Correct your people, Lord, but do not be too hard on us or punish us when you are angry; that would be the end of us.
25 Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.
25 Turn your anger on the nations that do not worship you and on the people who reject you. They have killed your people; they have destroyed us completely and left our country in ruins.
The King James Version is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.