¹² The iron-worker is heating the metal in the fire, giving it form with his hammers, and working on it with his strong arm: then for need of food his strength gives way, and for need of water he becomes feeble.

¹⁹ The workman makes an image, and the gold-worker puts gold plates over it, and makes silver bands for it.

⁶ They gave help everyone to his neighbour; and everyone said to his brother, Take heart!

⁷ So the metal-worker put heart into the gold-worker, and he who was hammering the metal smooth said kind words to the iron-worker, saying of the plate, It is ready: and he put it together with nails, so that there might be no slipping.

⁶ As for those who take gold out of a bag, and put silver in the scales, they give payment to a gold-worker, to make it into a god; they go down on their faces and give it worship.

⁷ They put him on their backs, and take him up, and put him in his fixed place, from which he may not be moved; if a man gives a cry for help to him, he is unable to give an answer, or get him out of his trouble.

⁴ And he took the gold from them and, hammering it with an instrument, he made it into the metal image of a young ox: and they said, This is your god, O Israel, who took you out of the land of Egypt.

⁸ Even now they are turned away from the rule I gave them, and have made themselves a metal ox and given worship to it and offerings, saying, This is your god, O Israel, who took you up out of the land of Egypt.

³ For that which is feared by the people is foolish: it is the work of the hands of the workman; for a tree is cut down by him out of the woods with his axe.

⁴ They make it beautiful with silver and gold; they make it strong with nails and hammers, so that it may not be moved.

⁵ It is like a pillar in a garden of plants, and has no voice: it has to be lifted, for it has no power of walking. Have no fear of it; for it has no power of doing evil and it is not able to do any good.

⁶ There is no one like you, O Lord; you are great and your name is great in power.

⁷ Who would not have fear of you, O King of the nations? for it is your right: for among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.

⁸ But they are together like beasts and foolish: the teaching of false gods is wood.

⁹ Silver hammered into plates is sent from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the expert workman and of the hands of the gold-worker; blue and purple is their clothing, all the work of expert men.

¹⁰ But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and an eternal king: when he is angry, the earth is shaking with fear, and the nations give way before his wrath.

¹¹ This is what you are to say to them: The gods who have not made the heavens and the earth will be cut off from the earth and from under the heavens.

¹³ See, is it not the pleasure of the Lord of armies that the peoples are working for the fire and using themselves up for nothing?