Jeremiah 10:1–39:18

God and Idols

10:12–16pp—Jer 51:15–19

10 Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nationsn

or be terrified by signso in the heavens,

though the nations are terrified by them.

3 For the practices of the peoples are worthless;

they cut a tree out of the forest,

and a craftsmanp shapes it with his chisel.q

4 They adorn it with silverr and gold;

they fasten it with hammer and nails

so it will not totter.s

5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,

their idols cannot speak;t

they must be carried

because they cannot walk.u

Do not fear them;

they can do no harmv

nor can they do any good.”w

6 No one is like you,x Lord;

you are great,y

and your name is mighty in power.

7 Who should not fearz you,

King of the nations?a

This is your due.

Among all the wise leaders of the nations

and in all their kingdoms,

there is no one like you.

8 They are all senselessb and foolish;c

they are taught by worthless wooden idols.d

9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshishe

and gold from Uphaz.

What the craftsman and goldsmith have madef

is then dressed in blue and purple—

all made by skilled workers.

10 But the Lord is the true God;

he is the living God,g the eternal King.h

When he is angry,i the earth trembles;j

the nations cannot endure his wrath.k

11 “Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perishl from the earth and from under the heavens.’ ”a

12 But God madem the earthn by his power;

he founded the world by his wisdomo

and stretched out the heavensp by his understanding.

13 When he thunders,q the waters in the heavens roar;

he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightningr with the rains

and brings out the wind from his storehouses.t

14 Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;

every goldsmith is shamedu by his idols.

The images he makes are a fraud;v

they have no breath in them.

15 They are worthless,w the objects of mockery;

when their judgment comes, they will perish.

16 He who is the Portionx of Jacob is not like these,

for he is the Maker of all things,y

including Israel, the people of his inheritancez—

the Lord Almighty is his name.a

Coming Destruction

17 Gather up your belongingsb to leave the land,

you who live under siege.

18 For this is what the Lord says:

“At this time I will hurlc out

those who live in this land;

I will bring distressd on them

so that they may be captured.”

19 Woe to me because of my injury!

My wounde is incurable!

Yet I said to myself,

“This is my sickness, and I must enduref it.”

20 My tentg is destroyed;

all its ropes are snapped.

My children are gone from me and are no more;h

no one is left now to pitch my tent

or to set up my shelter.

21 The shepherdsi are senselessj

and do not inquire of the Lord;k

so they do not prosperl

and all their flock is scattered.m

22 Listen! The report is coming—

a great commotion from the land of the north!n

It will make the towns of Judah desolate,o

a haunt of jackals.p

Jeremiah’s Prayer

23 Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own;

it is not for them to direct their steps.q

24 Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure—

not in your anger,r

or you will reduce me to nothing.s

25 Pour out your wrath on the nationst

that do not acknowledge you,

on the peoples who do not call on your name.u

For they have devouredv Jacob;

they have devoured him completely

and destroyed his homeland.w

The Covenant Is Broken

11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Listen to the terms of this covenantx and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. 3 Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursedy is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant—4 the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt,z out of the iron-smelting furnace.a’ I said, ‘Obeyb me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people,c and I will be your God. 5 Then I will fulfill the oath I swored to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’e—the land you possess today.”

I answered, “Amen,f Lord.”

6 The Lord said to me, “Proclaimg all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and followh them. 7 From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again,i saying, “Obey me.” 8 But they did not listen or pay attention;j instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.k So I brought on them all the cursesl of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.m’ ”

9 Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracyn among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors,o who refused to listen to my words.p They have followed other godsq to serve them.r Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenants I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disastert they cannot escape.u Although they cryv out to me, I will not listenw to them. 12 The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense,x but they will not help them at all when disastery strikes. 13 You, Judah, have as many godsz as you have towns;a and the altars you have set up to burn incenseb to that shamefulc god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

14 “Do not prayd for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listene when they call to me in the time of their distress.

15 “What is my beloved doing in my temple

as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes?

Can consecrated meatf avert your punishment?g

When you engage in your wickedness,

then you rejoice.a”

16 The Lord called you a thriving olive treeh

with fruit beautiful in form.

But with the roar of a mighty storm

he will set it on fire,i

and its branches will be broken.j

17 The Lord Almighty, who plantedk you, has decreed disasterl for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and arousedm my anger by burning incense to Baal.n

Plot Against Jeremiah

18 Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19 I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter;o I did not realize that they had plottedp against me, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;

let us cut him off from the land of the living,q

that his name be rememberedr no more.”

20 But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteouslys

and test the heartt and mind,u

let me see your vengeancev on them,

for to you I have committed my cause.

21 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathothw who are threatening to kill you,x saying, “Do not prophesyy in the name of the Lord or you will diez by our hands”—22 therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young mena will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. 23 Not even a remnantb will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.c”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

12 You are always righteous,d Lord,

when I bring a casee before you.

Yet I would speak with you about your justice:f

Why does the way of the wicked prosper?g

Why do all the faithless live at ease?

2 You have plantedh them, and they have taken root;

they grow and bear fruit.i

You are always on their lips

but far from their hearts.j

3 Yet you know me, Lord;

you see me and testk my thoughts about you.

Drag them off like sheepl to be butchered!

Set them apart for the day of slaughter!m

4 How long will the land lie parchedn

and the grass in every field be withered?o

Because those who live in it are wicked,

the animals and birds have perished.p

Moreover, the people are saying,

“He will not see what happens to us.”

God’s Answer

5 “If you have raced with men on foot

and they have worn you out,

how can you compete with horses?

If you stumblea in safe country,

how will you manage in the thicketsq byb the Jordan?

6 Your relatives, members of your own family—

even they have betrayed you;

they have raised a loud cry against you.r

Do not trust them,

though they speak well of you.s

7 “I will forsaket my house,

abandonu my inheritance;

I will give the one I lovev

into the hands of her enemies.w

8 My inheritance has become to me

like a lionx in the forest.

She roars at me;

therefore I hate her.y

9 Has not my inheritance become to me

like a speckled bird of prey

that other birds of prey surround and attack?

Go and gather all the wild beasts;

bring them to devour.z

10 Many shepherdsa will ruin my vineyard

and trample down my field;

they will turn my pleasant field

into a desolate wasteland.b

11 It will be made a wasteland,c

parched and desolate before me;d

the whole land will be laid waste

because there is no one who cares.

12 Over all the barren heights in the desert

destroyers will swarm,

for the sworde of the Lordf will devourg

from one end of the land to the other;h

no one will be safe.i

13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;

they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.j

They will bear the shame of their harvest

because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”k

14 This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritancel I gave my people Israel, I will uprootm them from their lands and I will uprootn the people of Judah from among them. 15 But after I uproot them, I will again have compassiono and will bringp each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. 16 And if they learnq well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’r—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baals—then they will be established among my people.t 17 But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroyu it,” declares the Lord.

A Linen Belt

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do…