Jeremiah 10

Idols and the True God

10Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.

²Thus says the Lord:

^a“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;

Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,

For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.

³For the customs of the peoples are ¹futile;

For ^bone cuts a tree from the forest,

The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.

⁴They decorate it with silver and gold;

They ^cfasten it with nails and hammers

So that it will not topple.

⁵They are upright, like a palm tree,

And ^dthey cannot speak;

They must be ^ecarried,

Because they cannot go by themselves.

Do not be afraid of them,

For ^fthey cannot do evil,

Nor can they do any good.”

⁶Inasmuch as there is none ^glike You, O Lord

(You are great, and Your name is great in might),

^7hWho would not fear You, O King of the nations?

For this is Your rightful due.

For ⁱamong all the wise men of the nations,

And in all their kingdoms,

There is none like You.

⁸But they are altogether ^jdull-hearted and foolish;

A wooden idol is a ²worthless doctrine.

⁹Silver is beaten into plates;

It is brought from Tarshish,

And ^kgold from Uphaz,

The work of the craftsman

And of the hands of the metalsmith;

Blue and purple are their clothing;

They are all ^lthe work of skillful men.

¹⁰But the Lord is the true God;

He is ^mthe living God and the ⁿeverlasting King.

At His wrath the earth will tremble,

And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.

¹¹Thus you shall say to them: ^o“The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth ^pshall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”

¹²He ^qhas made the earth by His power,

He has ^restablished the world by His wisdom,

And ^shas stretched out the heavens at His discretion.

^13tWhen He utters His voice,

There is a ³multitude of waters in the heavens:

^u“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightning for the rain,

He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”

^14vEveryone is ^wdull-hearted, without knowledge;

^xEvery metalsmith is put to shame by an image;

^yFor his molded image is falsehood,

And there is no breath in them.

¹⁵They are futile, a work of errors;

In the time of their punishment they shall perish.

^16zThe Portion of Jacob is not like them,

For He is the Maker of all things,

And ^aIsrael is the tribe of His inheritance;

^bThe Lord of hosts is His name.

The Coming Captivity of Judah

^17cGather up your wares from the land,

O ⁴inhabitant of the fortress!

¹⁸For thus says the Lord:

“Behold, I will ^dthrow out at this time

The inhabitants of the land,

And will distress them,

^eThat they may find it so.”

^19fWoe is me for my hurt!

My wound is severe.

But I say, ^g“Truly this is an infirmity,

And ^hI must bear it.”

²⁰ⁱMy tent is plundered,

And all my cords are broken;

My children have gone from me,

And they are ^jno more.

There is no one to pitch my tent anymore,

Or set up my curtains.

²¹For the shepherds have become dull-hearted,

And have not sought the Lord;

Therefore they shall not prosper,

And all their flocks shall be ^kscattered.

²²Behold, the noise of the report has come,

And a great commotion out of the ^lnorth country,

To make the cities of Judah desolate, a ^mden of jackals.

²³O Lord, I know the ⁿway of man is not in himself;

It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

²⁴O Lord, ^ocorrect me, but with justice;

Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.

^25pPour out Your fury on the Gentiles, ^qwho do not know You,

And on the families who do not call on Your name;

For they have eaten up Jacob,

^rDevoured him and consumed him,

And made his dwelling place desolate.