18  ^sTo whom then will you liken God,

or what likeness compare with him?

19  An idol! A ^tcraftsman casts it,

and a ^ugoldsmith overlays it with gold

and casts for it silver chains.

20  He who is too impoverished for an offering

chooses wood¹ that will not rot;

he seeks out a skillful craftsman

to set up an idol that will ^vnot move.

21  Do you not know? Do you not hear?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22  It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,

and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;

who ^wstretches out the heavens like a curtain,

and spreads them ^xlike a tent to dwell in;

23  who brings princes to nothing,

and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

24  Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,

scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,

when he blows on them, and they wither,

and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

25  To whom then will you compare me,

that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

26  Lift up your eyes on high and see:

who created these?

^yHe who brings out their host by number,

calling them all by name;

by the greatness of his might

and because he is strong in power,

not one is missing.

5  ^w“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,

and compare me, that we may be alike?

6  Those who lavish gold from the purse,

and weigh out silver in the scales,

hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

then they fall down and worship!

7  They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,

they set it in its place, and it stands there;

it ^xcannot move from its place.

If one ^ycries to it, it does not answer

or save him from his trouble.

8  ^z“Remember this and stand firm,

recall it to mind, you transgressors,

9  remember the former things of old;

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me,

10  ^adeclaring the end from the beginning

and from ancient times things not yet done,

saying, ^b‘My counsel shall stand,

and I will accomplish all my purpose,’

11  calling a bird of prey from the east,

the man of my counsel from a far country.

I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;

I have purposed, and I will do it.