2:18a What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—

What is the use of an idol? It is only a thing made by man.
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Idols that a master makes from wood or stone are useless!
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“An idol made by man ⌊that people worship as if it were a god⌋ is worth nothing.

2:18b or an image, a teacher of lies?

Or of what value/use is a statue that teaches/predicts only lies?
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And idols from metal only deceive you (plur.) !
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Everything it teaches/predicts is false.

2:18a-b (reordered)

What’s the use of an idol? It is only something that a human being has made, and it tells you nothing but lies. (Good News Translation)
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Any kind of idol that a maker/craftsman makes is useless. It teaches/predicts only lies.

2:18c For its maker trusts in his own creation;

That is because the man trusts in what he himself made.
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Because when people worship idols, they trust in the products that they themselves made.
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It is useless/foolish because the maker trusts in something that he himself made.

2:18d he makes idols that cannot speak.

He makes these worthless idols which cannot talk.
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They make these useless idols which cannot speak a word.
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It is a false god that cannot even talk.

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