Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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The Foolishness of Nature Worship
1 Anyone who does not know
God is simply foolish. Such
people look at the good things
around them and still fail to see the
living God. They have studied the
things he made, but they have not
recognized the one who made them.
2 Instead, they suppose that the gods
who rule the world are fire or wind
or storm or the circling stars or rushing
water or the heavenly bodies.
3 People were so delighted with the
beauty of these things that they
thought they must be gods, but they
should have realized that these
things have a master and that he is
much greater than all of them, for he
is the creator of beauty, and he created
them.
4 Since people are
amazed at the power of these things,
and how they behave, they ought to
learn from them that their maker is
far more powerful.
5 When we realize
how vast and beautiful the creation
is, we are learning about the
Creator at the same time.
6 But maybe we are too harsh
with these people. After all, they
may have really wanted to find God,
but couldn't.
7 Surrounded by God's
works, they keep on looking at
them, until they are finally convinced
that because the things they
see are so beautiful, they must be
gods.
8 But still, these people really
have no excuse.
9 If they had enough
intelligence to speculate about the
nature of the universe, why did they
never find the Lord of all things?
The Foolishness of Idolatry
10 But the most miserable people
of all are those who rest their hopes
-- --
on lifeless things, who worship
things that have been made by human
hands—images of animals artistically
made from gold and silver,
or some useless stone carved by
someone years ago.
11 A skilled
woodworker may saw down some
suitable tree, carefully strip off the
bark, and then, with skillful craftsmanship,
make from it an object
that will serve some useful purpose.
12 He will take the leftover pieces
and use them as firewood to cook a
meal that he can sit down to and enjoy.
13 But among that scrap wood he
may take one piece that isn't good
for anything—maybe it's crooked
and full of knots—and carefully
carve it in his leisure time, using
spare moments to shape it into the
crude image of a person,
14 or maybe
of some worthless animal. He paints
it all over with red, covering up every
flaw in the work.
15 Then he prepares
a suitable place in the wall for
it and fastens it in place with iron
nails.
16 He is careful to keep it from
falling, because he knows it is only
an idol and needs help; it cannot
help itself.
17 But he is not ashamed
to pray to this lifeless thing about
his marriage, his children, and his
possessions.
18 It is weak, but he
prays to it for health. It is dead, but
he prays to it for life. It has no experience,
but he prays to it for help. It
cannot walk, but he prays to it for a
successful journey.
19 Its hands have
no power, but he asks it to help
him—in business, in making money,
and in his work.
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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