16 He burns half of it in the fire; With this half he eats meat; He roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He even warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm, I have seen the fire.”
17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, His carved image. He falls down before it and worships it, Prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18aThey do not know nor understand; For bHe has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, And their hearts, so that they cannot cunderstand.
19 And no one aconsiders in his heart, Nor isthere knowledge nor understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire, Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it; And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
20 He feeds on ashes; aA deceived heart has turned him aside; And he cannot deliver his soul, Nor say, “Isthere not a blie in my right hand?”
Israel Is Not Forgotten
21 “Remember these, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you will not be aforgotten by Me!
22aI have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for bI have redeemed you.”
23aSing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; Break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, And bglorified Himself in Israel.
Making and worshipping an idol is foolishness and a lie, because a manmade image can never truthfully represent the Eternal God. For a son of God, worshipping idols is irrational (Acts 17:29); to look to something physical as important or more important than God defies all wisdom. The way the world looks to physical objects is superstition (e.g., good luck charms, religious crosses, shrines).
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