إِنَّمَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ أَوْثَانًا وَتَخْلُقُونَ إِفْكًا إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ لَكُمْ رِزْقًا فَابْتَغُوا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الرِّزْقَ وَاعْبُدُوهُ وَاشْكُرُوا لَهُ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ ﴿۱۷﴾ وَإِنْ تُكَذِّبُوا فَقَدْ كَذَّبَ أُمَمٌ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ وَمَا عَلَى الرَّسُولِ إِلَّا الْبَلَاغُ الْمُبِينُ ﴿۱۸﴾ أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا كَيْفَ يُبْدِئُ اللَّهُ الْخَلْقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ ﴿۱۹﴾

﴾17﴿ Innamaa ta'budoona min doonil laahi awsaananw-wa takhluqoona ifkaa; innal lazeena ta'budoona min doonil laahi laa yamlikoona lakum rizqan fabtaghoo 'indal laahir rizqa wa'budoohu washkuroo lahooo ilaihi turja'oon
﴾18﴿ Wa in tukazziboo faqad kazzaba umamum min qablikum wa maa'alar Rasooli illal balaaghul mubeen
﴾19﴿ Awa lam yaraw kaifa yubdi'ul laahul khalqa summa yu'eeduh; inna zaalika 'alal laahi yaseer

﴾17﴿ It is nothing but that you worship fabricated forms other than Allah, and you create false tales. Indeed, those whom you worship besides Allah cannot provide sustenance for you. Seek sustenance from Allah alone, worship Him alone, give thanks to Him, and to Him you will be returned
﴾18﴿ And if you deny me, indeed, nations before you have denied their messengers. And upon the messenger is only the duty of clear conveyance
﴾19﴿ Do they not see how Allah creates creation initially and then recreates it? Indeed, this task is easy for Allah

[17] In this verse, there are three refutations of shirk and three commands related to Tawheed.
"(Idols - أَوْثَانًا)" means: these are man-made deities, therefore they cannot be worthy of worship — because wathan refers to anything that is made and then worshiped, whether it be an idol, a grave, a cross, or anything similar.
"(A lie - إِفْكًا)" means: you have fabricated false stories for the sake of worshiping them.
"(Provision - رِزْقًا)" refers to a major human need — sustenance. No deity besides Allah has any control over any form of provision.
The summary of the last three commands is: the cause of provision and its increase is the worship of Allah the Exalted with Tawheed, along with gratitude to Him, and having belief in the Hereafter.
Note: The first occurrence of rizqan (رِزْقًا) is indefinite (nakirah), and the second al-rizq (الرِّزْقَ) is definite (ma‘rifah).
The reason is that the indefinite form, in a context of negation, conveys generality — meaning: no deity besides Allah has control over any type of provision.
The definite form indicates completeness — meaning: with Allah the Exalted is the complete provision.
[18] From this verse to verse (23), there are two possibilities:
First possibility: These verses are part of the story of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) — whether in the form of direct speech, or third-person reference as a shift in narrative style (iltifāt), or as a quote from the words of Allah the Exalted.
This view is preferred by Ibn Kathir.
Second possibility: These verses, inserted within the story of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), are in the form of an interjected statement (jumla mu‘taridah) referring to the state of the deniers from this Ummah. This view is favored by Ibn Jarir.
"(And if you deny - وَإِنْ تُكَذِّبُوا)" — according to the first possibility, this is a statement of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), meaning: "If you deny me," with the consequence being implied, such as: "then I will still not abandon preaching."
However, an objection to this interpretation is that before the time of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), not many rejecting nations had passed — so how is the plural "nations" (أُمَمٌ) used here?
The answer is: the nations of Nuh, ‘Ād, Thamud, and others had already passed.
According to the second possibility, this is the speech of Allah the Exalted addressed to the current deniers as a form of rebuke and warning.
[19] In this verse, the resurrection after death is affirmed — following the affirmation of Tawheed and Prophethood.
"(Have they not seen - أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا)" — here, seeing refers to knowing, and the process of human creation is known to every person of reason, even if it is not visible to the naked eye.
"(That - ذَلِكَ)" refers to the entirety of both the first and second creation.