1. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 4.28 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 4.28. וַעֲבַדְתֶּם־שָׁם אֱלֹהִים מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אָדָם עֵץ וָאֶבֶן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יִרְאוּן וְלֹא יִשְׁמְעוּן וְלֹא יֹאכְלוּן וְלֹא יְרִיחֻן׃ | 4.28. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell." |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 115.5, 135.15-135.18 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 115.5. פֶּה־לָהֶם וְלֹא יְדַבֵּרוּ עֵינַיִם לָהֶם וְלֹא יִרְאוּ׃ 135.15. עֲצַבֵּי הַגּוֹיִם כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אָדָם׃ 135.16. פֶּה־לָהֶם וְלֹא יְדַבֵּרוּ עֵינַיִם לָהֶם וְלֹא יִרְאוּ׃ 135.17. אָזְנַיִם לָהֶם וְלֹא יַאֲזִינוּ אַף אֵין־יֶשׁ־רוּחַ בְּפִיהֶם׃ 135.18. כְּמוֹהֶם יִהְיוּ עֹשֵׂיהֶם כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־בֹּטֵחַ בָּהֶם׃ | 115.5. They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not;" 135.15. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men's hands." 135.16. They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not;" 135.17. They have ears, but they hear not; Neither is there any breath in their mouths." 135.18. They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusteth in them." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 46.7, 66.3 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 46.7. יִשָּׂאֻהוּ עַל־כָּתֵף יִסְבְּלֻהוּ וְיַנִּיחֻהוּ תַחְתָּיו וְיַעֲמֹד מִמְּקוֹמוֹ לֹא יָמִישׁ אַף־יִצְעַק אֵלָיו וְלֹא יַעֲנֶה מִצָּרָתוֹ לֹא יוֹשִׁיעֶנּוּ׃ 66.3. שׁוֹחֵט הַשּׁוֹר מַכֵּה־אִישׁ זוֹבֵחַ הַשֶּׂה עֹרֵף כֶּלֶב מַעֲלֵה מִנְחָה דַּם־חֲזִיר מַזְכִּיר לְבֹנָה מְבָרֵךְ אָוֶן גַּם־הֵמָּה בָּחֲרוּ בְּדַרְכֵיהֶם וּבְשִׁקּוּצֵיהֶם נַפְשָׁם חָפֵצָה׃ | 46.7. He is borne upon the shoulder, he is carried, and set in his place, and he standeth, from his place he doth not remove; yea, though one cry unto him, he cannot answer, nor save him out of his trouble." 66.3. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he broke a dog’s neck; He that offereth a meal-offering, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that maketh a memorial-offering of frankincense, as if he blessed an idol; according as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations;" |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 10.5, 10.8, 10.14 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 10.5. כְּתֹמֶר מִקְשָׁה הֵמָּה וְלֹא יְדַבֵּרוּ נָשׂוֹא יִנָּשׂוּא כִּי לֹא יִצְעָדוּ אַל־תִּירְאוּ מֵהֶם כִּי־לֹא יָרֵעוּ וְגַם־הֵיטֵיב אֵין אוֹתָם׃ 10.8. וּבְאַחַת יִבְעֲרוּ וְיִכְסָלוּ מוּסַר הֲבָלִים עֵץ הוּא׃ 10.14. נִבְעַר כָּל־אָדָם מִדַּעַת הֹבִישׁ כָּל־צוֹרֵף מִפָּסֶל כִּי שֶׁקֶר נִסְכּוֹ וְלֹא־רוּחַ בָּם׃ | 10.5. They are like a pillar in a garden of cucumbers, and speak not; They must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, Neither is it in them to do good." 10.8. But they are altogether brutish and foolish: The vanities by which they are instructed are but a stock;" 10.14. Every man is proved to be brutish, without knowledge, Every goldsmith is put to shame by the graven image, His molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them." |
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5. Septuagint, Jeremiah, 10.16 (8th cent. BCE - 6th cent. BCE)
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6. Anon., 1 Enoch, 94.7, 97.8, 98.2, 99.2, 99.7-99.9 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 94.7. Woe to those who build their houses with sin; For from all their foundations shall they be overthrown, And by the sword shall they fall. [And those who acquire gold and silver in judgement suddenly shall perish.] 97.8. Woe to you who acquire silver and gold in unrighteousness and say: ' We have become rich with riches and have possessions; And have acquired everything we have desired. 98.2. For ye men shall put on more adornments than a woman, And coloured garments more than a virgin: In royalty and in grandeur and in power, And in silver and in gold and in purple, And in splendour and in food they shall be poured out as water. 99.2. Woe to them who pervert the words of uprightness, And transgress the eternal law, And transform themselves into what they were not [into sinners]: They shall be trodden under foot upon the earth. 99.7. And again I swear to you, ye sinners, that sin is prepared for a day of unceasing bloodshed. And they who worship stones, and grave images of gold and silver and wood (and stone) and clay, and those who worship impure spirits and demons, and all kinds of idols not according to knowledge, shall get no manner of help from them. 99.8. And they shall become godless by reason of the folly of their hearts, And their eyes shall be blinded through the fear of their hearts And through visions in their dreams. 99.9. Through these they shall become godless and fearful; For they shall have wrought all their work in a lie, And shall have worshiped a stone: Therefore in an instant shall they perish. |
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7. Anon., Jubilees, 11.16-11.17, 12.1-12.8, 20.7 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 11.16. And in the thirty-seventh jubilee, in the sixth week, in the first year thereof, he took to himself a wife, and her name was ’Îjâskâ, the daughter of Nêstâg of the Chaldees. And she bare him Terah in the seventh year of this week. 11.17. And the prince Mastêmâ sent ravens and birds to devour the seed which was sown in the land, in order to destroy the land, and rob the children of men of their labours. 12.1. And it came to pass in the sixth week, in the seventh year thereof, that Abram said to Terah his father, saying, "Father!" And he said, "Behold, here am I, my son. 12.2. And he said, "What help and profit have we from those idols which thou dost worship, And before which thou dost bow thyself? For there is no spirit in them, For they are dumb forms, and a misleading of the heart. Worship them not: 12.3. Worship the God of heaven, Who causeth the rain and the dew to descend on the earth, And doeth everything upon the earth, And hath created everything by His word, And all life is from before His face. 12.4. Why do ye worship things that have no spirit in them? For they are the work of (men's) hands, And on your shoulders do ye bear them 12.5. And ye have no help from them, But they are a great cause of shame to those who make them, And a misleading of the heart to those who worship them: Worship them not. 12.6. And his father said unto him, "I also know it, my son, but what shall I do with a people who have made me to serve before them? 12.7. And if I tell them the truth, they will slay me; for their soul cleaveth to them to worship them and honour them. Keep silent, my son, lest they slay thee. 12.8. And these words he spake to his two brothers, and they were angry with him and he kept silent. 20.7. and mutual corruption through fornication. br"And guard yourselves from all fornication and uncleanness, And from all pollution of sin, Lest ye make our name a curse, And your whole life a hissing |
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8. Dead Sea Scrolls, Epistle of Jeremiah, 11, 14, 16, 23, 26, 29-30, 39, 50, 54-58, 65, 67, 69-72, 8-10 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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9. Septuagint, Wisdom of Solomon, 13.17, 14.29, 15.5, 15.15, 15.17 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 13.17. When he prays about possessions and his marriage and children,he is not ashamed to address a lifeless thing. 14.29. for because they trust in lifeless idols they swear wicked oaths and expect to suffer no harm. 15.5. whose appearance arouses yearning in fools,so that they desire the lifeless form of a dead image. 15.15. For they thought that all their heathen idols were gods,though these have neither the use of their eyes to see with,nor nostrils with which to draw breath,nor ears with which to hear,nor fingers to feel with,and their feet are of no use for walking. 15.17. He is mortal, and what he makes with lawless hands is dead,for he is better than the objects he worships,since he has life, but they never have. |
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10. Septuagint, 3 Maccabees, 4.16 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 4.16. The king was greatly and continually filled with joy, organizing feasts in honor of all his idols, with a mind alienated from truth and with a profane mouth, praising speechless things that are not able even to communicate or to come to one's help, and uttering improper words against the supreme God. |
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11. Anon., Sibylline Oracles, 3.30, 8.359, 8.366, 8.375-8.399, 8.402 (1st cent. BCE - 5th cent. CE)
| 3.30. 30 This is the God who formed four-lettered Adam 3.30. As foolish men go seeking day by day 8.359. Bringing the likeness antitypical 8.366. And a fish of the sea live thousand men 8.375. 375 Shall search the heart and bare it to conviction; 8.376. For of all things is he himself the ear 8.377. And mind and sight, and Word that maketh form 8.378. To whom all things submit, and he preserve 8.379. Them that are dead and every sickness heals. 8.380. 380 Into the hands of lawless men, at last 8.381. And faithless he shall come, and they will give 8.382. To God rude buffetings with impure hand 8.383. And poisonous spittle with polluted mouths. 8.384. And he to whips will openly give then 8.385. 385 His holy back; [for he unto the world 8.386. A holy virgin shall himself commit.] 8.387. And silent he will be when buffeted 8.388. Lest anyone should know whose son he i 8.389. Or whence he came, that he may talk to the dead. 8.390. 390 And he shall also wear a crown of thorns; 8.391. For of thorns is the crown an ornament 8.392. Elect, eternal. They shall pierce his side 8.393. With a reed that they may fulfill their law; 8.394. For of reeds shaken by another spirit 8.395. 395 Were nourished inclinations of the soul 8.396. of anger and revenge. But when these thing 8.397. Shall be accomplished, of the which I spoke 8.398. Then unto him shall every law be loosed 8.399. Which from the first by the decrees of men 8.402. But gall for food and vinegar to drink |
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12. Horace, Sermones, 1.8.1 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
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13. Philo of Alexandria, On The Preliminary Studies, 65 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 65. But still what advantage is derived from all that is said? For men, instead of attending, turn their mind in other directions, some to marine and mercantile affairs, others to rents and agriculture; some to public honours and affairs of state, some to the gains to be derived from each different profession and art, others to revenging themselves upon their enemies, others again to the enjoyments to be derived from the indulgence of the amorous appetites, and in short every body is under the influence of some distracting idea or other; so that, as far as the subjects of the discussion are concerned, they are completely deaf, and are present with their bodies only, but are at a distance as to their minds, being in no particular different from images or statues. |
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14. Philo of Alexandria, On The Decalogue, 76 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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15. Philo of Alexandria, On The Embassy To Gaius, 101-116, 12, 19, 21, 39, 53, 68, 75-100 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 100. Again, he takes with him his caduceus or herald's wand, as a token of reconciliation and peace, for wars receive their respites and terminations by means of heralds, who restore peace; and wars which have no heralds to terminate them cause endless calamities to both parties, both to those who invade their neighbours and to those who are endeavouring to repel the invasion. |
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16. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 8.4, 12.2 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 8.4. Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we knowthat no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other Godbut one. 12.2. You know that when you were heathen, you were ledaway to those mute idols, however you might be led. |
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17. New Testament, Apocalypse, 9.20 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 9.20. The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, didn't repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn't worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk. |
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18. Anon., Joseph And Aseneth, 8.6
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