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16-17 Do you see the irony? He sits around, warming himself and roasting dinner with wood from the same tree from which he crafted a god to which he bows and worships and prays—one time saying, “I am warmed by the wood fire”; another time saying, “O dear god, save me.”

18-19 So we see again how it is that they’re blind—their eyes shut to the truth in front of them, their hearts and minds refusing to think and really understand what’s going on. So without stopping to think about it, the fool says, “Gosh, I used half of the wood to build a fire, and baked the bread and roasted the meat over its hot coals. After I eat, I think I’ll use the rest of it to make a repulsive god. Maybe I’ll bow down to this leftover lumber.”

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17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
    he bows down to it and worships.(A)
He prays(B) to it and says,
    “Save(C) me! You are my god!”
18 They know nothing, they understand(D) nothing;
    their eyes(E) are plastered over so they cannot see,
    and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
19 No one stops to think,
    no one has the knowledge or understanding(F) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;(G)
    I even baked bread over its coals,
    I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable(H) thing from what is left?
    Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”(I)

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