The worthless gods of the nations can’t make it rain. By themselves, the skies can’t give showers. But you can, O Lord our God. We have hope in you because you do all these things.
But my people have forgotten me. They burn incense as an offering to worthless idols, and they stumble along the way, on the ancient path. They go on side roads and not on major highways.
He will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods. He will burn down the temples and take their gods captive. Nebuchadnezzar will put on Egypt as his coat as a shepherd puts on his coat. He will leave Egypt peacefully.
“Announce this among the nations, and spread the news. Raise a flag, and announce it. Don’t hide anything. Say, ‘Babylon will be captured. Bel will be put to shame. Marduk will be filled with terror. Babylon’s statues will be put to shame. Its idols will be filled with terror.’
Are they ashamed that they do disgusting things? No, they’re not ashamed. They don’t even know how to blush. So they will die with those who die. They will be brought down when I punish them,’ ” says the Lord.
The cry from my dear people comes from a distant land: “Isn’t the Lord in Zion? Isn’t Zion’s king still there?” They make me furious with their idols, with their foreign gods.
The time for them to be punished will come. The time for them to pay for their sins will come. ⌞When this happens,⌟ Israel will know it. ⌞They think that⌟ prophets are fools and that spiritual people are crazy. They have sinned a lot, and they are very hostile.
“On that day,” declares the Lord of Armies, “I will wipe away the names of the idols from the land. They will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the ⌞false⌟ prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.
and said, “Men, what are you doing? We’re human beings like you. We’re spreading the Good News to you to turn you away from these worthless gods to the living God. The living God made the sky, the land, the sea, and everything in them.
They made him furious because they worshiped foreign gods and angered him because they worshiped worthless idols. So I will use those who are not my people to make them jealous and a nation of godless fools to make them angry.
But the next morning they saw that Dagon had ⌞again⌟ fallen forward on the ground in front of the Lord’s ark. Dagon’s head and his two hands were cut off ⌞and were lying⌟ on the temple’s threshold. The rest of Dagon’s body was intact.