Jer 10, Jer 26 | ESV | STEP | Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel .

1 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus 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.
5 Their 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.
11 Thus 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.
15 They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16 Not 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!
18 For 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.

Jeremiah 26

Jeremiah Threatened with Death

1 ^beIn the beginning of the reign of ^bfJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: 2 “Thus says the Lord: ^bgStand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord ^bhall the words that I command you to speak to them; ^bido not hold back a word. 3 ^bjIt may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, ^bkthat I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them ^blbecause of their evil deeds. 4 You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^bmIf you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, 5 ^bnand to listen to the words of my servants the prophets whom I send to you ^bourgently, ^bpthough you have not listened, 6 then I will make this house ^bqlike Shiloh, and I will make this city ^bra curse for all the nations of the earth.’”

7 ^bsThe priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord. 8 And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then ^btthe priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die! 9 Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be ^bulike Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, ^bvwithout inhabitant’?” And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

10 When ^bwthe officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the Lord and took their seat in the ^bxentry of the New Gate of the house of the Lord. 11 Then ^bythe priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, ^bz“This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.”

12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the words you have heard. 13 Now therefore ^camend your ways and your deeds, ^cband obey the voice of the Lord your God, ^ccand the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you. 14 ^cdBut as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you. 15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, ^ceyou will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants, for in truth the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears.”

Jeremiah Spared from Death

16 ^cfThen the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, ^cg“This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” 17 ^chAnd certain of ^cithe elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people, saying, 18 “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts,

^cj“‘Zion shall be plowed as a field;
Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,
and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’
19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? ^ckDid he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, ^cland did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? ^cmBut we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.”

20 There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^cnKiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah. 21 And when ^coKing Jehoiakim, with all his warriors and all the officials, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. 22 Then ^cpKing Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men, ^cqElnathan the son of ^crAchbor and others with him, 23 and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, ^cswho struck him down with the sword and dumped his dead body into the burial place of the common people.

24 But the hand of ^ctAhikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.