Jeremiah 10–11

The Lord Is the Only True God

10People of Israel, listen to what the Lord is telling you. ²He says,

“Do not follow the practices of other nations.

Do not be terrified by warnings in the sky.

Do not be afraid, even though the nations are terrified by them.

³The practices of those nations are worthless.

People cut a tree out of the forest.

A skilled worker shapes the wood with a sharp tool.

⁴Others decorate it with silver and gold.

They use a hammer to nail it to the floor.

They want to keep it from falling down.

⁵The statues of their gods can’t speak.

They are like scarecrows in a field of melons.

They have to be carried around

because they can’t walk.

So do not worship them.

They can’t do you any harm.

And they can’t do you any good either.”

⁶Lord, no one is like you.

You are great.

You are mighty and powerful.

⁷King of the nations,

everyone should have respect for you.

That’s what people should give you.

Among all of the wise people in the nations

there is no one like you.

No one can compare with you in all of their kingdoms.

⁸All of them are foolish. They don’t have any sense.

They think they are taught by worthless wooden gods.

⁹Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish.

Gold is brought from Uphaz.

People who are skilled in working with wood and gold make a statue.

Then they put blue and purple clothes on it.

The whole thing is made by skilled workers.

¹⁰But you are the only true God.

You are the only living God.

You are the King who rules forever.

When you are angry, the earth trembles with fear.

The nations can’t stand up under your anger.

¹¹The Lord says to the Jews who are living in Babylonia, “Tell the people of the nations, ‘Your gods did not make the heavens and the earth. In fact, those gods will disappear from the earth. They will vanish from under the heavens.’ ”

¹²But God used his power to make the earth.

His wisdom set the world in place.

His understanding spread the heavens out.

¹³When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar.

He makes clouds rise from one end of the earth to the other.

He sends lightning along with the rain.

He brings the wind out from his storerooms.

¹⁴No one has any sense. No one knows anything at all.

Everyone who works with gold is put to shame by his wooden gods.

The metal gods he worships are fakes.

They can’t even breathe.

¹⁵They are worthless. People make fun of them.

When the Lord judges them, they will be destroyed.

¹⁶The God of Jacob is not like them.

He gives his people everything they need.

He made everything that exists.

And that includes Israel.

It’s the nation that belongs to him.

His name is The Lord Who Rules Over All.

The Land Will Be Destroyed

¹⁷People of Jerusalem, your enemies have surrounded you.

They are attacking you.

So gather up what belongs to you.

Then leave the land.

¹⁸The Lord says,

“I am about to throw out of this land

everyone who lives in it.

I will bring trouble on them.

They will be captured.”

¹⁹How terrible it will be for me!

I’ve been wounded!

And my wound can’t be healed!

In spite of that, I said to myself,

“I’m sick. But I’ll have to put up with it.”

²⁰Jerusalem is like a tent that has been destroyed.

All of its ropes have snapped.

My people have gone away from me.

Now no one is left to set up my tent.

I have no one to set it up for me.

²¹The leaders of my people are like shepherds

who don’t have any sense.

They don’t ask the Lord for advice.

That’s why they don’t succeed.

And that’s why their whole flock

is scattered like sheep.

²²Listen! A message is coming!

I hear the sound of a great army

marching down from the north!

It will turn Judah’s towns into a desert.

They will become a home for wild dogs.

Jeremiah Prays to the Lord

²³Lord, I know that a man doesn’t control his own life.

He doesn’t direct his own steps.

²⁴Correct me, Lord. But please be fair.

Don’t correct me when you are angry.

If you do, nothing will be left of me.

²⁵Pour out your burning anger on the nations.

They don’t pay any attention to you.

They refuse to worship you.

They have destroyed the people of Jacob.

They’ve wiped them out completely.

They’ve also destroyed the land they lived in.

The Lord’s People Have Broken His Covenant

11A message came to me from the Lord. He said, ²“Listen to the terms of the covenant I made with my people long ago. Tell Judah the terms still apply to them. Tell those who live in Jerusalem that they must obey them too.

³“I am the God of Israel. So let the people know what I want them to do. Tell them I am saying, ‘May the man who does not obey the terms of the covenant be under my curse. ⁴I gave those terms to your people long ago. That was when I brought them out of Egypt. I saved them out of that furnace that melts iron down and makes it pure.’ I said, ‘Obey me. Do everything I command you to do. Then you will be my people. And I will be your God.

⁵“ ‘I raised my hand and made an oath to your people long ago. I promised them I would give them a land that had plenty of milk and honey.’ It is the land you own today. I kept my promise.”

I replied, “Amen, Lord.”

⁶The Lord said to me, “Here is what I want you to announce in the towns of Judah. Say it also in the streets of Jerusalem. Tell the people, ‘Listen to the terms of my covenant. Obey them. ⁷Long ago I brought your people up from Egypt. From that time until today, I warned them again and again. I said, “Obey me.”

⁸“ ‘But they did not listen. They did not pay any attention to me. Instead, they did what their stubborn and evil hearts wanted them to do. So I brought down on them all of the curses of the covenant. I commanded them to obey it. But they refused.’ ”

⁹The Lord continued, “The people of Judah have made some evil plans. So have those who live in Jerusalem. ¹⁰All of them have returned to the sins their people committed long ago. Those people refused to listen to what I told them. And now the people of Israel and Judah alike have worshiped other gods and served them. They have broken the covenant I made with their people who lived before them.

¹¹“So I say, ‘I will bring trouble on them. They will not be able to escape it. They will cry out to me. But I will not listen to them.

¹²“ ‘The people of Jerusalem and of the towns of Judah will cry out to the gods they burn incense to. But those gods will not help them at all when trouble strikes them. ¹³Judah, you have as many gods as you have towns. And in Jerusalem you have set up as many altars as there are streets. You are burning incense to that shameful god Baal.’

¹⁴“Jeremiah, do not pray for those people. Do not make any appeal or request for them. They will call out to me when they are in trouble. But I will not listen to them.

¹⁵“I love the people of Judah.

But they are working out their evil plans along with many others.

So what are they doing in my temple?

Can meat that is offered to me keep me from punishing you?

When you do evil things, you get a lot of pleasure from them.”

¹⁶People of Judah, the Lord once called you a healthy olive tree.

He thought its fruit was beautiful.

But now he will come with the roar of a mighty storm.

He will set the tree on fire.

And its branches will be broken.

¹⁷The Lord who rules over all planted you. But now he has ordered your enemies to destroy you. The people of Israel and Judah have done what is evil. They have made the Lord very angry by burning incense to Baal.

Jeremiah’s Enemies Make Evil Plans Against Him

¹⁸The Lord told me about the evil plans of my enemies. That’s how I knew about them. He showed me what they were doing. ¹⁹I had been like a gentle lamb that was led off to be killed. I didn’t realize they had made plans against me. They had said,

“Let’s destroy the tree and its fruit.

Let’s cut him off while he’s still living.

Then his name won’t be remembered anymore.”

²⁰But Lord, you rule over all.

You always judge fairly.

You put people’s hearts and minds to the test.

So pay them back for what they’ve done.

I’ve committed my cause to you.

²¹The Lord says, “Jeremiah, here is what I am telling you about the men of Anathoth. They want to kill you. They are saying, ‘Don’t prophesy in the Lord’s name. If you do, we will kill you with our own hands.’ ”

²²So the Lord who rules over all says, “I will punish them. Their young men will be killed with swords. Their sons and daughters will die of hunger. ²³Only a few people will be left alive. I will judge the men of Anathoth. I will destroy them when the time to punish them comes.”