Jeremiah 10:2–16

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,

^3ffor the customs of the peoples are vanity.¹

^gA tree from the forest is cut down

and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.

^4hThey decorate it with silver and gold;

ⁱthey fasten it with hammer and nails

so that it cannot move.

⁵Their idols² are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

and ^jthey cannot speak;

^kthey have to be carried,

for they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them,

^lfor they cannot do evil,

neither is it in them to do good.”

^6mThere is none like you, O Lord;

you are great, and your name is great in might.

⁷ⁿWho 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.

^8oThey are both ^pstupid and foolish;

the instruction of idols is but wood!

^9qBeaten silver is brought from ^rTarshish,

and gold from ^sUphaz.

^qThey are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;

their clothing is violet and purple;

^tthey are all the work of skilled men.

^10uBut the Lord is the true God;

^vhe 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: ^w“The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth ^xshall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”³

^12yIt is he who ^zmade the earth by his power,

^zwho established the world by his wisdom,

and ^aby his understanding stretched out the heavens.

^13bWhen he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,

^cand he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.

^cHe makes lightning ^dfor the rain,

^cand he brings forth the wind ^efrom his storehouses.

^14fEvery man is stupid and without knowledge;

^gevery goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,

for his images are false,

^hand 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 ⁱthe portion of Jacob,

for he is the one who formed all things,

^jand Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

^kthe Lord of hosts is his name.