15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
    they are regarded as dust on the scales;(A)
    he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.(B)
16 Lebanon(C) is not sufficient for altar fires,
    nor its animals(D) enough for burnt offerings.
17 Before him all the nations(E) are as nothing;(F)
    they are regarded by him as worthless
    and less than nothing.(G)

18 With whom, then, will you compare God?(H)
    To what image(I) will you liken him?
19 As for an idol,(J) a metalworker casts it,
    and a goldsmith(K) overlays it with gold(L)
    and fashions silver chains for it.
20 A person too poor to present such an offering
    selects wood(M) that will not rot;
they look for a skilled worker
    to set up an idol(N) that will not topple.(O)

21 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?(P)
Has it not been told(Q) you from the beginning?(R)
    Have you not understood(S) since the earth was founded?(T)
22 He sits enthroned(U) above the circle of the earth,
    and its people are like grasshoppers.(V)
He stretches out the heavens(W) like a canopy,(X)
    and spreads them out like a tent(Y) to live in.(Z)
23 He brings princes(AA) to naught
    and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.(AB)
24 No sooner are they planted,
    no sooner are they sown,
    no sooner do they take root(AC) in the ground,
than he blows(AD) on them and they wither,(AE)
    and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.(AF)

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