'Idols' in the Bible

Their land has also been filled with idols;They worship the work of their hands,That which their own fingers have made.

So the common man has been humbled [before idols]And the man of importance has been degraded,Therefore do not forgive them [O Lord].

And the idols will completely vanish (be abolished).

In that day men will throw away to the moles and to the batsTheir idols of silver and their idols of gold,Which they made for themselves [as objects] to worship,

“As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,Whose carved images were greater and more feared than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,

Shall I not do to Jerusalem and her imagesJust as I have done to Samaria and her idols?” [declares Assyria].

The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Egypt:Listen carefully, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt;The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence,And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

“Then the spirit of the Egyptians will become exhausted within them and emptied out;And I will confuse their strategy,So that they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead,And mediums and soothsayers.

For in that day every man will reject and throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold [in disgust], which your own hands have sinfully made for you.

Do you [who worship idols] not know? Have you not heard?Has it not been told to you from the beginning?Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth [the omnipotence of God and the stupidity of bowing to idols]?

“Present your case [for idols made by men’s hands],” says the Lord.“Produce your evidence [of divinity],”Says the king of Jacob.

Hear this! You [idols] are less than nothing,And your work is worthless;The worshiper who chooses you [as a god] is repulsive.

Who [among the idols] has declared this from the beginning, so that we could know?Or from earlier times, so that we could say, “He is [unquestionably] right!”?In fact, there was no one who declared it,Indeed, there was no one who proclaimed it;There was no one at all who heard you speak [for you pagan gods are speechless].

“But when I look [on the pagan prophets and priests], there is no one [who could predict these events],And there is no counselor among them,Who, if I ask, can give an answer.

All who make carved idols are nothing. Their precious objects are worthless [to them], and their own witnesses (worshipers) fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame.

They will be put to shame and also humiliated, all of them;They who make idols will go away together in humiliation.

“Assemble yourselves and come;Come together, you survivors of the nations!They are ignorant,Who carry around their wooden idols [in religious processions or into battle]And keep on praying to a god that cannot save them.

Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;Their idols are on the beasts [of burden] and on the cattle.Your burdens [of idols] are loaded [on them],Burdens on the weary animals.

They stooped over, they have bowed down together;They could not rescue the burden [of their own idols],But have themselves gone into captivity.

“For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it [I refrain and do not completely destroy you];For how can My Name be defiled and profaned [as it would if My chosen people were completely destroyed]?And I will not give My glory to another [by permitting the worshipers of idols to triumph over you].

Who inflame yourselves [with lust in pagan rites] among the oaks (terebinth trees),Under every green and leafy tree,Who slaughter the children [in sacrifice] in the ravinesUnder the clefts of the rocks?

“Among the smooth stones of the ravineIs your portion, they (the idols) are your lot;Even to them you have poured out a drink offering,You have offered a grain offering.Should I be quiet concerning these things [leaving them unpunished—bearing them with patience]?

“When you cry out [for help], let your [ridiculous] collection of idols save you.But the wind will carry them all away,A [mere] breath will take them.But he who takes refuge in Me will possess the land [Judea]And will inherit My holy mountain.”

The people who continually provoke Me to My face,Sacrificing [to idols] in gardens and making offerings with incense on bricks [instead of at the designated altar];

“He who kills an ox [for pagan sacrifice] is [as guilty] as one who kills a man;He who sacrifices a lamb, as one who breaks a dog’s neck;He who offers a grain offering, as one who offers swine’s blood;He who offers incense, as one who blesses an idol.Such people have chosen their own ways,And their soul delights in their repulsive acts;

“Those who [vainly attempt to] sanctify and cleanse themselves to go to the gardens [to sacrifice to idols],Following after one in the center,Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,Will come to an end together,” says the Lord.