Jer 10, Jer 41 | 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 41

Gedaliah Murdered

1 ^beIn the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, at ^bfMizpah. As they ^bgate bread together there at Mizpah, 2 ^bhIshmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men with him rose up and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword, and killed him, ^biwhom the king of Babylon had appointed governor in the land. 3 Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at ^bjMizpah, and the Chaldean soldiers who happened to be there.

4 On the day after the murder of Gedaliah, before anyone knew of it, 5 eighty men arrived from ^bkShechem and ^blShiloh and ^bmSamaria, with ^bntheir beards shaved and ^botheir clothes torn, and ^bptheir bodies gashed, ^bqbringing grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord. 6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah came out from ^brMizpah to meet them, weeping as he came. As he met them, he said to them, “Come in to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.” 7 When they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men with him slaughtered them and cast them into a cistern. 8 But there were ten men among them who said to Ishmael, “Do not put us to death, for we have ^bsstores of wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in the fields.” So he refrained and did not put them to death with their companions.

9 Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the bodies of the men whom he had struck down along with ^{▼▼Hebrew by the hand of} Gedaliah was the large cistern that ^buKing Asa had made for defense against ^bvBaasha king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10 Then Ishmael took captive all the rest of the people who were in Mizpah, ^bwthe king’s daughters and all the people who were left at Mizpah, whom ^bxNebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to ^bythe Ammonites.

11 But when ^bzJohanan the son of Kareah and ^caall the leaders of the forces with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, 12 they took all their men and went to fight against Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. They came upon him at ^cbthe great pool that is in ^ccGibeon. 13 And when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and ^cdall the leaders of the forces with him, they rejoiced. 14 ^ceSo all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to ^cfthe Ammonites. 16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah and ^cgall the leaders of the forces with him took from Mizpah all the rest of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam—soldiers, ^chwomen, children, and eunuchs, whom Johanan brought back from ^ciGibeon. 17 And they went and stayed at Geruth ^cjChimham near ^ckBethlehem, intending to go to Egypt 18 because of the Chaldeans. For they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, ^clwhom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.