You acted against the Lord of heaven and brought in the cups and bowls taken from his Temple. You, your noblemen, your wives, and your concubines drank wine out of them and praised gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone---gods that cannot see or hear and that do not know anything. But you did not honor the God who determines whether you live or die and who controls everything you do.

"And now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, honor, and glorify the King of Heaven. Everything he does is right and just, and he can humble anyone who acts proudly."

The Philistine kings met together to celebrate and offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They sang, "Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson!"

They were enjoying themselves, and so they said, "Call Samson, and let's make him entertain us!" When they brought Samson out of the prison, they made him entertain them and made him stand between the columns. When the people saw him, they sang praise to their god: "Our god has given us victory over our enemy, who devastated our land and killed so many of us!"

"I alone am the LORD your God. No other god may share my glory; I will not let idols share my praise.

She would never acknowledge that I am the one who gave her the grain, the wine, the olive oil, and all the silver and gold that she used in the worship of Baal.

I will strip her naked in front of her lovers, and no one will be able to save her from my power.

I will destroy her grapevines and her fig trees, which she said her lovers gave her for serving them. I will turn her vineyards and orchards into a wilderness; wild animals will destroy them.

The rest of the human race, all those who had not been killed by these plagues, did not turn away from what they themselves had made. They did not stop worshiping demons, nor the idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk.

Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic, their sexual immorality, or their stealing.

King Nebuchadnezzar had a gold statue made, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and he had it set up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

When all these officials gathered for the dedication and stood in front of the statue,

You will hear the sound of the trumpets, followed by the playing of oboes, lyres, zithers, and harps; and then all the other instruments will join in. As soon as the music starts, you are to bow down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

And so, as soon as they heard the sound of the instruments, the people of all the nations, races, and languages bowed down and worshiped the gold statue which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

It was then that some Babylonians took the opportunity to denounce the Jews.

Your Majesty has issued an order that as soon as the music starts, everyone is to bow down and worship the gold statue,

There are some Jews whom you put in charge of the province of Babylon---Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego---who are disobeying Your Majesty's orders. They do not worship your god or bow down to the statue you set up."

He said to them, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you refuse to worship my god and to bow down to the gold statue I have set up?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, "Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves.

But even if he doesn't, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up."

Their gods are made of silver and gold, formed by human hands.

They have ears, but cannot hear, and noses, but cannot smell.

May all who made them and who trust in them become like the idols they have made.

The gods of the nations are made of silver and gold; they are formed by human hands.

They have ears, but cannot hear; they are not even able to breathe.

He is not like an idol that workers make, that metalworkers cover with gold and set in a base of silver.

Anyone who cannot afford silver or gold chooses wood that will not rot. He finds a skillful worker to make an image that won't fall down.

All who trust in idols, who call images their gods, will be humiliated and disgraced."

People open their purses and pour out gold; they weigh out silver on the scales. They hire a goldsmith to make a god; then they bow down and worship it.

They lift it to their shoulders and carry it; they put it in place, and there it stands, unable to move from where it is. If any pray to it, it cannot answer or save them from disaster.

and decorated with silver and gold. It is fastened down with nails to keep it from falling over.

LORD, there is no one like you; you are mighty, and your name is great and powerful.

All of them are stupid and foolish. What can they learn from wooden idols?

You are doomed! You say to a piece of wood, "Wake up!" or to a block of stone, "Get up!" Can an idol reveal anything to you? It may be covered with silver and gold, but there is no life in it.

Since we are God's children, we should not suppose that his nature is anything like an image of gold or silver or stone, shaped by human art and skill.

A certain silversmith named Demetrius made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis, and his business brought a great deal of profit to the workers.

Now, you can see and hear for yourselves what this fellow Paul is doing. He says that hand-made gods are not gods at all, and he has succeeded in convincing many people, both here in Ephesus and in nearly the whole province of Asia.

As the crowd heard these words, they became furious and started shouting, "Great is Artemis of Ephesus!"

The rest of the human race, all those who had not been killed by these plagues, did not turn away from what they themselves had made. They did not stop worshiping demons, nor the idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk.