Worthlessness of the idols
27 Their priests misuse the sacrifices by selling them and using the money for themselves. Their wives also preserve some of the meat, but they don't share it with the poor or disabled. Menstruating women and others who have just given birth have handled their sacrifices.
28
Since you know from these things that they aren't gods, don't be afraid of them.
29
Why call them gods? Because women place food before these gods of silver, gold, and wood?
30
Or because the priests sit in their temples with their garments torn, with their heads and beards shaved, and their heads uncovered?
31
They howl and shout in front of their gods as some do at a funeral feast for the dead.
32
Yet the priests take the gods' clothing to dress their wives and children.
33
Whether one treats them badly or well, the gods aren't able to repay in kind. They aren't able to install or remove a ruler.
34
They can't give either wealth or money. If someone makes a solemn promise and doesn't keep it, they can't enforce it.
35
They can't save a person from death or rescue a weak person from a strong one.
36
They can't restore sight to the blind or rescue a person in an emergency.
37
They can't show mercy to a widow, nor can they do any good for an orphan.
38
These wooden things covered in gold and silver are like stones from a mountain. Their servants will be humiliated.
39
So why should anyone consider or call them gods?
40
In addition, even the Chaldeans dishonor them. When they see a person who is unable to speak, they bring out Bel and expect Bel to make a sound as if he were able to understand.
41
Even after observing this, the Chaldeans themselves are unable to abandon the idols because they have no sense.
42
The women, with cords wrapped around them, sit along the streets and burn corn husks as incense.
43
When one of these women is dragged away by someone to have sex, she makes fun of the one nearest her by saying that the other woman wasn't as worthy as she, nor has the woman's cord been broken.
44
Everything that is done for the gods is phony. So why should anyone consider or call them gods?
45
Carpenters and goldsmiths make them. They can be only what these designers want them to be.
46
Their creators won't live long themselves, so how can the things they have made be gods?
47
These designers leave behind something fake and disgraceful for those who come after them.
48
When war or disasters come, the priests consult with each other about where they may hide along with the idols.
49
So how can one not grasp that they aren't gods? They can't save themselves from war or other disasters.
50
After such events as this, the idols, made of wood and covered in gold and silver, will be recognized as fake. It will be clear to the nations and to the rulers that they aren't gods but human creations. There's nothing divine about them.
51
Who then doesn't realize that they aren't gods?
52
They could never raise up a ruler over a country or provide rain for people.
53
They can't render a verdict in their own cases, nor can they save those falsely accused, because the idols are powerless. They are like crows between the sky and the earth.
54
When a fire breaks out in the home of their wooden gods covered in gold and silver, their priests will run and save themselves, but the gods will be destroyed like the supporting beams.
55
The idols can't stand up against kings or enemies in war.
56
So why should anyone consider or call them gods?
57
The wooden gods covered in gold and silver can't be saved from thieves and robbers, who will take away the gold, silver, and clothing that the idols wear. They won't be able to protect themselves.
58
It's better to be a ruler who has courage or a household utensil that the owner can actually use than to be fake gods. The door of a house, which keeps safe the things that are in it, is better than fake gods. A wooden column in a palace is better than these fake gods.