Besides Me There Is No God
6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and
1his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
2"I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
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3Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
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Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it?
4And you are my witnesses!
5Is there a God besides me? There is no
6Rock; I know not any."
The Folly of Idolatry
9 7All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.
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8Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?
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9Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.
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10The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint.
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The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass.
11He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.
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12He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it.
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Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.
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Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, "Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!"
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And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it.
13He prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!"
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They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
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No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, "Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an
14abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?"
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15He feeds on
16ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, "Is there not
17a lie in my right hand?"