A copy of the letter which Jeremiah sent unto them which were to be led captives into Babylon by the king of Babylon, to certify them as he was commanded of God on account of the sins which ye have sinned before God: Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon shall lead you captive into Babylon, and shall burn them more with lamps than for themselves, and they cannot see anything with them.

Therefore when ye be come unto Babylon, ye shall remain there many years, and for a long season, even for seven generations: and after that I will bring you forth from thence in peace upon their bodies and heads the owls and swallows and other birds and cats shall alight: know ye therefore by this that they are no gods, and fear them not. And the gold that adorns them, if its rust be not wiped away, it hath no splendor, as also when it is cast upon them it is not perceived.

Now then shall ye see in Babylon gods of silver, and gold, and wood, borne upon shoulders, which cast a fear upon the heathen.

Beware therefore that ye in no wise be like unto the strangers, neither be ye afraid of them, and let fear fall upon you from them. How then can one not perceive that they are no gods, which neither can save themselves from war nor from evil?

When therefore ye see the multitude before them and behind them, worshipping them, say ye in your hearts, O Lord, thou alone oughtest to be worshipped. And insomuch as it is wood overlaid with gold and silver, it shall then be known afterward that it is a lie, and it shall appear to all nations and kings that they are no gods, but the work of men's hands, and that there is no work of God in them: therefore is there no need to put them in mind that they are no gods, and they contend not, no, not for their own contentions, neither rescue any from wrong, seeing that they can do nothing, but are as the ravens betwixt heaven and earth. Assuredly a king of might or a useful vessel in a house, which its owner uses, is better than false gods. And a door in a house that keeps what is within it, is better than false gods. And a wooden pillar in a palace is better than false gods.

For my angel is with you, and he demands your lives.

As for them, they have tongues carved by the carpenter, and overlaid with gold and silver: but they be false gods, and cannot speak.

Men take gold for them, as it is taken for a virgin that loves adornment.

And they make crowns for them and put them on the heads of their gods, and sometimes the priests steal the gold and silver from their gods for their own profit.

And they exchange some of it with the prostitutes that are in the house. They deck the gods with garments like men, and they are of silver and gold.

Yet can they not be saved from rust and moths, though they be clad in purple.

And they wipe their faces from the dust of the house that gathers upon them.

And every one of them holds a sceptre as a ruler of a country, yet he slays not him that offends him.

And in his right hand a sword and an axe, but he saveth not himself from war and thieves; wherefore it is certain that they are no gods, therefore fear them not: for as a broken vessel profiteth nothing to him that owns it, so are their gods.

When they are set up in houses, their eyes are full of dust from the feet of them that come in.

They are confined in courtyards, as is confined one that hath offended against the king; and their priests fortify their houses with doors and locks and bars, as is done with one condemned to death, lest thieves spoil them.

They are but as the rafters of a house, and it is mentioned that the worms of the earth devour their hearts, so they are eaten and their clothing, and they perceive it not.

And their faces are blackened from the smoke in the house.

They are purchased at any price, though there is no breath in them.

They have no feet, and so are carried upon shoulders, and thereby declare to men their baseness: and they that worship them are also ashamed.

Because if they fall to the ground, they rise not up of themselves, neither, if any set them up, do they move of themselves, nor if they be leaned, do they stand straight; but unto them sacrifices are offered, as unto the dead.

And their priests sell their sacrifices for their own profit, and likewise their wives salt that which remaineth of them, and give no share thereof to the poor nor to the sick.

The menstruous woman and she that hath been delivered, touch their sacrifices; since therefore ye know by this that they are no gods, fear them not.

Why are they called gods? because women offer gifts to these gods, which are of silver, and gold, and wood.

And because the priests sit in their houses with rent garments, and their heads and beards shaven, and their heads uncovered.

And they lament, crying aloud before their gods, as men that sit at a funeral.

The priests take from their garments that which they clothe their wives and children with.

And if one do them evil or good, they cannot recompense, neither is it in their power to make a king or to depose him.

Neither can they give riches nor money, and if any vow a vow and perform it not, they demand it not.

They deliver no one from death, neither save the weak from the hand of the strong.

They restore not sight to the blind, nor release any in distress.

They pity no widow, nor do good to the orphan.

These gods therefore, which are of wood and overlaid with gold and silver, are like stones of the mountain: and they that worship them shall be ashamed.

How then may it be supposed or called gods?

Yea, the Chaldeans despise them: for when they see a dumb man who cannot speak, they bring him to Bel and ask him for speech, as if he perceived.

And despite their testing of them, they do not forsake their worship, because they do not perceive.

And the women sit by the ways, girt with cords, burning bran for incense.

And when any passerby draws one of them aside and lies with her, she upbraids her companion that she has not been as favored as herself, and that her cord has not been broken.

And all that is done for these gods is but a lie: how then may it be supposed or called gods?

It is the work of a carpenter and a goldsmith; therefore it can be nothing but what its maker desires.

And they that made them are of short continuance; how then can that which they have made be so?

They have left to those that follow them a lie and a reproach.

And when war and evil come upon them, the priests consult among themselves where to hide them.

For they establish no king over a country, neither give rain to men.

And if fire fall in a house of these gods made of wood overlaid with gold or silver, their priests flee and escape, but they themselves are consumed like the rafters of the house.

They resist neither king nor enemy: how then may it be supposed or accounted as gods?

And these gods made of wood and overlaid with silver and gold, save not themselves from thieves or robbers.

And those that take them, strip them of the gold and silver and the apparel upon them, and carry them away, and they defend not themselves.

The sun and moon and stars, they give light and are sent for the benefit of mankind, and obey him that sent them.

Likewise the lightning, when it flashes, is pleasing to the eye, and the wind blows in every quarter.

And the clouds are commanded of God to pass over all the habitable earth, and they perform that which they are commanded.

And the fire sent from above to consume mountains and forests, doth what it is commanded. But these are equal to them neither in aspect nor in power.

Therefore it is not meet to suppose or call them gods, seeing they cannot execute judgment or do good.

Since then ye know that they are no gods, fear them not.

For they curse not kings, neither bless them.

Neither show they signs in the nations nor in the heaven, nor shine as the sun, nor give light as the moon.

The beasts are better than they, for it is in their power to flee to a refuge and profit themselves.

And in short, it doth not appear unto us by any means that they are gods: fear them not therefore.

Like unto their gods made of wood overlaid with gold and silver, is a person set up in a garden of cucumbers, safeguarding nothing.

And also like unto their gods made of wood overlaid with gold and silver is a bramble in a garden, whereupon every bird alighteth or a dead body cast forth, to its darkness.

And of purple and crimson, the moths do eat them; by this it is known that they are no gods, and in the end they also are consumed and become a reproach among the nations.

The righteous man who hath no idol is better, because he is far from reproach.