11 You will destroy those horrible pagan idols, because they were made from part of your creation and have become a trap for foolish people.
12 Our God, the idea of making an idol was itself the first step toward being unfaithful to you.
13 Idols were not here in the beginning, and they won't be around forever.
14 They resulted from human pride, and so you have plans for them to end quickly.
15 For example, a father made an idol to look like his child who had suddenly died, and the dead child then became an object of worship by later generations, who followed mysterious and secret ceremonies.
16 Over the years, such godless ceremonies became customs and then laws, as rulers commanded idols of themselves to be carved and worshiped.
17 And when people lived far from their rulers, they tried to make idols that looked like their rulers, so that they could honor and flatter those rulers as if they were there with them.