Jeremiah 10
10
Idolatry Brings Destruction
1Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O Israel! 2This is what the Lord says:
“Do not act like the other nations,
who try to read their future in the stars.
Do not be afraid of their predictions,
even though other nations are terrified by them.
3Their ways are futile and foolish.
They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
4They decorate it with gold and silver
and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails
so it won’t fall over.
5Their gods are like
helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field!
They cannot speak,
and they need to be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of such gods,
for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.”
6 Lord, there is no one like you!
For you are great, and your name is full of power.
7Who would not fear you, O King of nations?
That title belongs to you alone!
Among all the wise people of the earth
and in all the kingdoms of the world,
there is no one like you.
8People who worship idols are stupid and foolish.
The things they worship are made of wood!
9They bring beaten sheets of silver from Tarshish
and gold from Uphaz,
and they give these materials to skillful craftsmen
who make their idols.
Then they dress these gods in royal blue and purple robes
made by expert tailors.
10But the Lord is the only true God.
He is the living God and the everlasting King!
The whole earth trembles at his anger.
The nations cannot stand up to his wrath.
11Say this to those who worship other gods: “Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth and from under the heavens.”#10:11 The original text of this verse is in Aramaic.
12But the Lord made the earth by his power,
and he preserves it by his wisdom.
With his own understanding
he stretched out the heavens.
13When he speaks in the thunder,
the heavens roar with rain.
He causes the clouds to rise over the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses.
14The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge!
The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make,
for their carefully shaped works are a fraud.
These idols have no breath or power.
15Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies!
On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed.
16But the God of Israel#10:16 Hebrew the Portion of Jacob. See note on 5:20. is no idol!
He is the Creator of everything that exists,
including Israel, his own special possession.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
The Coming Destruction
17Pack your bags and prepare to leave;
the siege is about to begin.
18For this is what the Lord says:
“Suddenly, I will fling out
all you who live in this land.
I will pour great troubles upon you,
and at last you will feel my anger.”
19My wound is severe,
and my grief is great.
My sickness is incurable,
but I must bear it.
20My home is gone,
and no one is left to help me rebuild it.
My children have been taken away,
and I will never see them again.
21The shepherds of my people have lost their senses.
They no longer seek wisdom from the Lord.
Therefore, they fail completely,
and their flocks are scattered.
22Listen! Hear the terrifying roar of great armies
as they roll down from the north.
The towns of Judah will be destroyed
and become a haunt for jackals.
Jeremiah’s Prayer
23I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own.
We are not able to plan our own course.
24So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle.
Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.
25Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you—
on the peoples that do not call upon your name.
For they have devoured your people Israel#10:25 Hebrew devoured Jacob. See note on 5:20.;
they have devoured and consumed them,
making the land a desolate wilderness.
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Jeremiah 10: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Jeremiah 10
10
1Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: 2thus saith Jehovah, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them. 3For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe. 4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. 5They are like a palm-tree, of turned work, and speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.
6There is none like unto thee, O Jehovah; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 7Who should not fear thee, O King of the nations? for to thee doth it appertain; forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is none like unto thee. 8But they are together brutish and foolish: the instruction of idols! it is but a stock. 9There is silver beaten into plates, which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the artificer and of the hands of the goldsmith; blue and purple for their clothing; they are all the work of skilful men. 10But Jehovah is the true God; he is the living God, and an everlasting King: at his wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide his indignation.
11Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens.
12He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens. 13When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries. 14Every man is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 15They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. 16The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.
17Gather up thy wares out of the land, O thou that abidest in the siege. 18For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and will distress them, that they may feel it.
19Woe is me because of my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is my grief, and I must bear it. 20My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth from me, and they are not: there is none to spread my tent any more, and to set up my curtains. 21For the shepherds are become brutish, and have not inquired of Jehovah: therefore they have not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered. 22The voice of tidings, behold, it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling-place of jackals.
23O Jehovah, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 24O Jehovah, correct me, but in measure; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. 25Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name; for they have devoured Jacob, yea, they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.
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