Jeremiah 10

Idols and the Living God

1Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2Thus says the Lord:

“Learn not the way of the nations,
nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens
because the nations are dismayed at them,
3 ^afor the customs of the peoples are vanity. ▼

▼Or vapor, or mist

^cA tree from the forest is cut down
and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
4 ^dThey decorate it with silver and gold;
^ethey fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move.
5Their idols ▼

▼Hebrew They

are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and ^gthey cannot speak;
^hthey have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
ⁱfor they cannot do evil,
neither is it in them to do good.”
6 ^jThere is none like you, O Lord;
you are great, and your name is great in might.
7 ^kWho would not fear you, O King of the nations?
For this is your due;
for among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is none like you.
8 ^lThey are both ^mstupid and foolish;
the instruction of idols is but wood!
9 ⁿBeaten silver is brought from ^oTarshish,
and gold from ^pUphaz.
^qThey are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;
their clothing is violet and purple;
^rthey are all the work of skilled men.
10 ^sBut the Lord is the true God;
^the is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
11Thus shall you say to them: ^u“The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth ^vshall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” ▼

▼This verse is in Aramaic

12 ^xIt is he who ^ymade the earth by his power,
^zwho established the world by his wisdom,
and ^aaby his understanding stretched out the heavens.
13 ^abWhen he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
^acand he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
^adHe makes lightning ^aefor the rain,
^afand he brings forth the wind ^agfrom his storehouses.
14 ^ahEvery man is stupid and without knowledge;
^aievery goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
^ajand there is no breath in them.
15They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16Not like these is he who is ^akthe portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
^aland Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
^amthe Lord of hosts is his name.
17 ^anGather up your bundle from the ground,
O you who dwell under siege!
18For thus says the Lord:
^ao“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
at this time,
^apand I will bring distress on them,
that they may feel it.”
19 Woe is me because of my hurt!
^aqMy wound is grievous.
But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,
and I must bear it.”
20 ^arMy tent is destroyed,
and all my cords are broken;
my children have gone from me,
^asand they are not;
there is no one to spread my tent again
and ^atto set up my curtains.
21 ^auFor the shepherds ^avare stupid
and do not inquire of the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
^awand all their flock is scattered.
22 A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—
^axa great commotion out of the north country
to make ^aythe cities of Judah a desolation,
^aza lair of jackals.
23 ^baI know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself,
that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
24 ^bbCorrect me, O Lord, but in justice;
not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
25 ^bcPour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,
and on the peoples that call not on your name,
^bdfor they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him and consumed him,
and have laid waste his habitation.