¹⁷ He makes a god or his idol with the rest of it.
He bows down to it and worships;
he prays to it,^(A) ‘Save me, for you are my god.’

46 Bel crouches; Nebo cowers.^(A)
Idols depicting them are consigned to beasts and cattle.
The images you carry are loaded,
as a burden for the weary animal.

⁷ They lift it to their shoulder and bear it along;^(A)
they set it in its place, and there it stands;
it does not budge from its place.^(B)
They cry out to it but it doesn’t answer;
it saves no one from his trouble.

⁵ Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,
their idols cannot speak.^(A)
They must be carried^(B) because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them, for they can do no harm^(C) –
and they cannot do any good.^(D)