New Living Translation NLT
The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
1 Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O Israel!
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Hear the word ADONAI speaks to you, house of Isra'el!
2 This is what the LORD says: “Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them.
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Here is what ADONAI says: "Don't learn the way of the Goyim, don't be frightened by astrological signs, even if the Goyim are afraid of them;
3 Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
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for the customs of the peoples are nothing. They cut down a tree in the forest; a craftsman works it with his axe;
4 They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over.
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they deck it with silver and gold. They fix it with hammer and nails, so that it won't move.
5 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.”
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Like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch, it cannot speak. It has to be carried, because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of it it can do nothing bad; likewise it is unable to do anything good!"
6 LORD, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power.
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There is no one like you, ADONAI! You are great, and your name is great and mighty.
7 Who would not fear you, O King of nations? That title belongs to you alone! Among all the wise people of the earth and in all the kingdoms of the world, there is no one like you.
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Who would not fear you, king of the nations? For it is your due! - since among all the wise of the nations and among all their royalty, there is no one like you.
8 People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood!
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One and all they are boorish and stupid; the teaching of their nothings is a piece of wood!
9 They bring beaten sheets of silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, and they give these materials to skillful craftsmen who make their idols. Then they dress these gods in royal blue and purple robes made by expert tailors.
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Silver is beaten into plates, then imported from Tarshish. Gold from Ufaz is worked by a craftsman and shaped by the hands of a goldsmith. They are clothed in blue and purple, all the work of skillful men.
10 But the LORD is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at his anger. The nations cannot stand up to his wrath.
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But ADONAI, God, is the true God, the living God, the everlasting king. At his anger, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his fury.
11 Say this to those who worship other gods: “Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth and from under the heavens.”
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"This is what you must say to them: 'The gods that did not make heaven and earth will perish from earth and from under heaven.'"
12 But the LORD made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens.
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God made the earth by his power, established the world by his wisdom spread out the sky by his understanding.
13 When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.
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When he thunders, the waters in heaven roar, he raises clouds from the ends of the earth, he makes the lightning flash in the rain and brings the wind out from his storehouses.
14 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.
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At this, everyone is proved stupid, ignorant, every goldsmith put to shame by his idol! The figures he casts are a fraud; there is no breath in them;
15 Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed.
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they are nothings, ridiculous objects; when the day for their punishment comes, they will perish.
16 But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists, including Israel, his own special possession. The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
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Ya'akov's portion is not like these, for he is the one who formed all things. Isra'el is the tribe he claims as his heritage; ADONAI-Tzva'ot is his name.
17 Pack your bags and prepare to leave; the siege is about to begin.
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You who are living under the siege, gather your belongings off the ground,
18 For this is what the LORD says: “Suddenly, I will fling out all you who live in this land. I will pour great troubles upon you, and at last you will feel my anger.”
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for here is what ADONAI says: "At this time I am slinging away the inhabitants of the land; I will distress them, so that they will feel it."
19 My wound is severe, and my grief is great. My sickness is incurable, but I must bear it.
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Woe to me because of my wound! My injury is incurable! I used to say, "It's only an illness, and I can bear it."
20 My home is gone, and no one is left to help me rebuild it. My children have been taken away, and I will never see them again.
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But now my tent is ruined, all its cords are severed; my children have left me and are no more; there is no one to set up my tent again, no one to raise its curtains.
21 The shepherds of my people have lost their senses. They no longer seek wisdom from the LORD . Therefore, they fail completely, and their flocks are scattered.
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The shepherds have become stupid, they have not consulted ADONAI. This is why they have not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered.
22 Listen! Hear the terrifying roar of great armies as they roll down from the north. The towns of Judah will be destroyed and become a haunt for jackals.
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Listen! A noise! It's coming closer! A great uproar from the land to the north, to make the cities of Y'hudah desolate, a place for jackals to live.
23 I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course.
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ADONAI, I know that the way of humans is not in their control, humans are not able to direct their steps as they walk.
24 So correct me, LORD, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.
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ADONAI, correct me, but in moderation, not in your anger, or you'll reduce me to nothing.
25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you— on the peoples that do not call upon your name. For they have devoured your people Israel ; they have devoured and consumed them, making the land a desolate wilderness.
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Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you, also on the families that do not call on your name. For they have consumed Ya'akov - consumed him and finished him off, and laid waste to his home.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.