People who do that will be put to shame. Those who make statues of gods are mere human beings. Let all of them come together and state their case. They will be terrified and put to shame.

看哪，他的同伴都必羞愧。工匠也不过是人，任他们聚会，任他们站立，都必惧怕，一同羞愧。

看哪，他的同伙都必羞愧。工匠不过是人，任他们聚集，任他们站立吧！他们都必惧怕，一同羞愧。

看哪，他的同伙都必羞愧。工匠不过是人，任他们聚集，任他们站立吧！他们都必惧怕，一同羞愧。

看啊，制造神像的工匠不过是人，他们必羞愧。让他们一起来对质吧，他们必恐惧、羞愧。

看哪！所有与它同伙的都必蒙羞；工匠也不过是人罢了。让他们都集合起来，都站立起来；让他们都惧怕，都一同蒙羞。

看哪！与他同伙的也必蒙羞，因为工匠自己也不过是人。让他们聚集、站立吧！他们都必惧怕、蒙羞！

看哪，他的同伴都必羞愧。工匠也不過是人，任他們聚會，任他們站立，都必懼怕，一同羞愧。

看哪，他的同夥都必羞愧。工匠不過是人，任他們聚集，任他們站立吧！他們都必懼怕，一同羞愧。

看哪，他的同夥都必羞愧。工匠不過是人，任他們聚集，任他們站立吧！他們都必懼怕，一同羞愧。

看啊，製造神像的工匠不過是人，他們必羞愧。讓他們一起來對質吧，他們必恐懼、羞愧。

看哪！所有與它同夥的都必蒙羞；工匠也不過是人罷了。讓他們都集合起來，都站立起來；讓他們都懼怕，都一同蒙羞。

看哪，所有依附着它、的人都必失望，製作它、的匠人極為狼狽；他們儘管集合攏來，儘管挺身而立，都必覺得恐懼、一概失望。

看哪！與他同夥的也必蒙羞，因為工匠自己也不過是人。讓他們聚集、站立吧！他們都必懼怕、蒙羞！

凡宗之者、咸生愧赧、造之之工、世人而已、任其聚會、屹立於此、必同戰慄、而慚恧焉、

豈非人乎、宜其同儔、咸生愧赧、使彼聚會、屹立於此、必令其戰慄不勝、慙恧無地。

其伴侶悉生愧怍、作像者、亦僅人而已、倘彼聚集而立、必皆恐懼、咸蒙羞恥、

People who do that will be put to shame; such craftsmen are only human beings. Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and shame.

Behold, 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.

All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen— mere humans— who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.

Look, all its worshipers will be put to shame, and the craftsmen are humans. They all will assemble and stand; they all will be startled and put to shame.

Behold, all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.

Surely all his companions would be ashamed; And the workmen, they are mere men. Let them all be gathered together, Let them stand up; Yet they shall fear, They shall be ashamed together.

Behold, all his fellows shall be put to shame; and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; they shall fear, they shall be put to shame together.

Look, all its worshipers will be put to shame, and the craftsmen are humans. They all will assemble and stand; they all will be startled and put to shame.

Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they[ are] of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up;[ yet] they shall fear,[ and] they shall be ashamed together.

Look, all his associates will be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere humans. Let them all assemble and take their stand! They will panic and be put to shame.

Behold, all his fellows will be disappointed; and the workmen are mere men. Let them all be gathered together. Let them stand up. They will fear. They will be put to shame together.

Some people trust in statues of gods. They say to them,‘ You are our gods.’ But they will be dishonored. They will be put to shame.

All those who make statues of gods will be put to shame. They will be dishonored. They will be led away in shame together.

All who worship statues of gods or brag about them are put to shame. All you gods, worship the Lord!

“ Israel, you take delight in worshiping among the sacred oak trees. You will be full of shame for doing that. You have chosen to worship in the sacred gardens. You will be dishonored for doing that.

King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue. It was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide. He set it up on the plain of Dura near the city of Babylon.Then the king sent for the royal rulers, high officials and governors. He sent for the advisers, treasurers, judges and court officers. And he sent for all the other officials of Babylon. He asked them to come to a special gathering to honor the statue he had set up.So the royal rulers, high officials and governors came together. So did the advisers, treasurers, judges and court officers. All the other officials joined them. They came to honor the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They stood in front of it.Then a messenger called out loudly,“ Listen, you people who come from every nation! Pay attention, you who speak other languages! Here is what the king commands you to do.You will soon hear the sound of horns and flutes. You will hear zithers, lyres, harps and pipes. In fact, you will hear all kinds of music. When you do, you must fall down and worship the gold statue. That is the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.If you don’t, you will be thrown into a blazing furnace right away.”All the people heard the sound of the horns and flutes. They heard the zithers, lyres, harps and other musical instruments. As soon as they did, they fell down and worshiped Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. They were people from all nations no matter what language they spoke.

“ No one has any sense. No one knows anything. Everyone who works with gold is put to shame by his wooden gods. His metal gods are fakes. They can’t even breathe.

The people of Ashdod got up early the next day. They saw the statue of Dagon. There it was, lying on the ground! It had fallen on its face in front of the ark of the Lord. So they picked up the statue of Dagon. They put it back in its place.But the following morning when they got up, they saw the statue of Dagon. There it was, lying on the ground again! It had fallen on its face in front of the ark of the Lord. Its head and hands had been broken off. Only the body of the statue was left. Its head and hands were lying in the doorway of the temple.That’s why to this day no one steps on the bottom part of the doorway of Dagon’s temple at Ashdod. Not even the priests of Dagon step there.The Lord’ s power was against the people of Ashdod and the settlements near it. He destroyed them. He made them suffer with growths in their bodies.The people of Ashdod saw what was happening. They said,“ The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us. His power is against us and against our god Dagon.”

The people on the islands have seen that king coming. And it has made them afraid. People tremble with fear from one end of the earth to the other. They come and gather together.They help one another. They say to one another,“ Be strong!”One skilled worker makes a statue of a god. Another covers it with gold. The first worker says to the second,“ You have done a good job.” Another worker smooths out the metal with a hammer. Still another gives the statue its final shape. The one who hammers says to the one who shapes,“ You have done a good job.” Then they nail the statue down so it won’t fall over.

No one has any sense or knows anything at all. Everyone who works with gold is put to shame by his gods. The metal gods he has made are fakes. They can’t even breathe.

The rulers of the Philistines gathered together. They were going to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They were going to celebrate. They said,“ Our god has handed our enemy Samson over to us.”When the people saw Samson, they praised their god. They said,“ Our god has handed our enemy over to us. Our enemy has destroyed our land. He has killed large numbers of our people.”After they had drunk a lot of wine, they shouted,“ Bring Samson out. Let him put on a show for us.” So they called Samson out of the prison. He put on a show for them. They had him stand near the temple pillars.Then he spoke to the servant who was holding his hand. He said,“ Put me where I can feel the pillars. I’m talking about the ones that hold up the temple. I want to lean against them.”The temple was crowded with men and women. All the Philistine rulers were there. About 3,000 men and women were on the roof. They were watching Samson put on a show.Then he prayed to the Lord. Samson said,“ Lord and King, show me that you still have concern for me. Please, God, make me strong just one more time. Let me pay the Philistines back for what they did to my two eyes. Let me do it with only one blow.”Then Samson reached toward the two pillars that were in the middle of the temple. They were the ones that held up the temple. He put his right hand on one of them. He put his left hand on the other. He leaned hard against them.Samson said,“ Let me die together with the Philistines!” Then he pushed with all his might. The temple came down on the rulers. It fell on all the people in it. So Samson killed many more Philistines when he died than he did while he lived.

There was a man named Demetrius who made things out of silver. He made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis. He brought in a lot of business for the other skilled workers there.One day he called them together. He also called others who were in the same kind of business.“ My friends,” he said,“ you know that we make good money from our work.You have seen and heard what this fellow Paul is doing. He has talked to large numbers of people here in Ephesus. Almost everywhere in Asia Minor he has led people away from our gods. He says that the gods made by human hands are not gods at all.Our work is in danger of losing its good name. People’s faith in the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be weakened. Now she is worshiped all over Asia Minor and the whole world. But soon she will be robbed of her greatness.”When they heard this, they became very angry. They began shouting,“ Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”Soon people were making trouble in the whole city. They all rushed into the theater. They dragged Gaius and Aristarchus along with them. These two men had come with Paul from Macedonia.Paul wanted to appear in front of the crowd. But the believers wouldn’t let him.Some of the officials in Asia Minor were friends of Paul. They sent him a message, begging him not to go into the theater.The crowd didn’t know what was going on. Some were shouting one thing and some another. Most of the people didn’t even know why they were there.The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front. They tried to tell him what to say. But he motioned for them to be quiet. He was about to give the people reasons for his actions.But then they realized that he was a Jew. So they all shouted the same thing for about two hours.“ Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” they yelled.

They asked each other,“ Who did this?” They looked into the matter carefully. Someone told them,“ Gideon, the son of Joash, did it.”The people in the town spoke to Joash. They ordered him,“ Bring your son out here. He must die. He has torn down Baal’s altar. He has cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”But Joash replied to the angry crowd around him. He asked,“ Are you going to stand up for Baal? Are you trying to save him? Those who stand up for him will be put to death by morning! Is Baal really a god? If he is, he can stand up for himself when someone tears down his altar.”That’s why they gave Gideon the name Jerub- Baal on that day. Gideon had torn down Baal’s altar. So they said,“ Let Baal take his stand against him.”

Now send for people from all over Israel. Tell them to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of the god named Baal. Also bring the 400 prophets of the female god named Asherah. All of them eat at Jezebel’s table.”So Ahab sent that message all through Israel. He gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel.Elijah went there and stood in front of the people. He said,“ How long will it take you to make up your minds? If the Lord is the one and only God, worship him. But if Baal is the one and only God, worship him.” The people didn’t say anything.Then Elijah said to them,“ I’m the only one of the Lord’ s prophets left. But Baal has 450 prophets.Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves. Let them cut it into pieces. Then let them put it on the wood. But don’t let them set fire to it. I’ll prepare the other bull. I’ll put it on the wood. But I won’t set fire to it.Then you pray to your god. And I’ll pray to the Lord. The god who answers by sending fire down is the one and only God.” Then all the people said,“ What you are saying is good.”Elijah said to the prophets of Baal,“ Choose one of the bulls. There are many of you. So prepare your bull first. Pray to your god. But don’t light the fire.”So they prepared the bull they had been given. They prayed to Baal from morning until noon.“ Baal! Answer us!” they shouted. But there wasn’t any reply. No one answered. Then they danced around the altar they had made.At noon Elijah began to tease them.“ Shout louder!” he said.“ I’m sure Baal is a god! Perhaps he has too much to think about. Or maybe he has gone to the toilet. Or perhaps he’s away on a trip. Maybe he’s sleeping. You might have to wake him up.”So they shouted louder. They cut themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed. That’s what they usually did when things really looked hopeless.It was now past noon. The prophets of Baal continued to prophesy with all their might. They did it until the time came to offer the evening sacrifice. But there wasn’t any reply. No one answered. No one paid any attention.

The Philistines asked,“ What guilt offering should we send to him?” Their advisers replied,“ There are five Philistine rulers. So send five gold rats. Also send five gold models of the growths in your bodies. Do it because the same plague has struck you and your rulers alike.Make models of the rats and the growths that are destroying the country. Give honor to Israel’s god. Then perhaps his power will no longer be against you, your gods and your land.

Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies. They had gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.But the beast and the false prophet were captured. The false prophet had done signs for the beast. In this way the false prophet had tricked some people. Those people had received the mark of the beast and had worshiped its statue. The beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the lake of fire. The lake of fire burns with sulfur.The rest were killed by the sword that came out of the rider’s mouth. All the birds stuffed themselves with the dead bodies.

“ A thief is dishonored when he is caught. And you people of Israel are filled with shame. Your kings and officials are dishonored. So are your priests and your prophets.You say to a piece of wood,‘ You are my father.’ You say to a stone,‘ You are my mother.’ You have turned your backs to me. You refuse to look at me. But when you are in trouble, you say,‘ Come and save us!’

Then Elijah commanded them,“ Grab the prophets of Baal. Don’t let a single one of them get away!” So they grabbed them. Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley. There he had them put to death.

King Belshazzar gave a huge banquet. He invited a thousand of his nobles to it. He drank wine with them.While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to his servants. He commanded them to bring in some gold and silver cups. They were the cups his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Belshazzar had them brought in so everyone could drink from them. That included the king himself, his nobles, his wives and his concubines.So the servants brought in the gold cups. The cups had been taken from God’s temple in Jerusalem. The king and his nobles drank from them. So did his wives and concubines.As they drank the wine, they praised their gods. The statues of those gods were made out of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood or stone.Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared. They wrote something on the plaster of the palace wall. It happened near the lampstand. The king watched the hand as it wrote.His face turned pale. He was so afraid that his legs became weak. And his knees were knocking together.