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
Idols and the True God
1Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel.
2Thus says the Lord:
#(Lev. 18:3; 20:23; Deut. 12:30)“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 futile;
For #Is. 40:19; 45:20one 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 #Is. 41:7fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
5They are upright, like a palm tree,
And #Ps. 115:5; Is. 46:7; Jer. 10:5; 1 Cor. 12:2they cannot speak;
They must be #Ps. 115:7; Is. 46:1, 7carried,
Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them,
For #Is. 41:23, 24they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good.”
6Inasmuch as there is none #Ex. 15:11; Deut. 33:26; Ps. 86:8, 10; Is. 46:5–9; Jer. 10:16like You, O Lord
(You are great, and Your name is great in might),
7#Jer. 5:22; Rev. 15:4Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
For this is Your rightful due.
For #Ps. 89:6among all the wise men of the nations,
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
8But they are altogether #Ps. 115:8; Hab. 2:18dull-hearted and foolish;
A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.
9Silver is beaten into plates;
It is brought from Tarshish,
And #Dan. 10:5gold from Uphaz,
The work of the craftsman
And of the hands of the metalsmith;
Blue and purple are their clothing;
They are all #Ps. 115:4the work of skillful men.
10But the Lord is the true God;
He is #1 Tim. 6:17the living God and the #Ps. 10:16everlasting 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: #Ps. 96:5“The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth #Is. 2:18; Zeph. 2:11shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”
12He #Gen. 1:1, 6, 7; Jer. 51:15has made the earth by His power,
He has #Ps. 93:1established the world by His wisdom,
And #Job 9:8; Ps. 104:2; Is. 40:22has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.
13#Job 38:34When He utters His voice,
There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:
#Ps. 135:7“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.”
14#Jer. 51:17Everyone is #Prov. 30:2dull-hearted, without knowledge;
#Is. 42:17; 44:11Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;
#Hab. 2:18For 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.
16#Ps. 16:5; Jer. 51:19; Lam. 3:24The Portion of Jacob is not like them,
For He is the Maker of all things,
And #Deut. 32:9; Ps. 74:2Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
#Is. 47:4The Lord of hosts is His name.
The Coming Captivity of Judah
17#Jer. 6:1Gather up your wares from the land,
O inhabitant of the fortress!
18For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will #1 Sam. 25:29; 2 Chr. 36:20throw out at this time
The inhabitants of the land,
And will distress them,
#Ezek. 6:10That they may find it so.”
19#Jer. 8:21Woe is me for my hurt!
My wound is severe.
But I say, #Ps. 77:10“Truly this is an infirmity,
And #Mic. 7:9I must bear it.”
20#Jer. 4:20; Lam. 2:4My tent is plundered,
And all my cords are broken;
My children have gone from me,
And they are #Jer. 31:15; Lam. 1:5no 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 #Jer. 23:2scattered.
22Behold, the noise of the report has come,
And a great commotion out of the #Jer. 5:15north country,
To make the cities of Judah desolate, a #Jer. 9:11den of jackals.
23O Lord, I know the #Prov. 16:1; 20:24way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
24O Lord, #Ps. 6:1; 38:1; Jer. 30:11correct me, but with justice;
Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.
25#Ps. 79:6, 7; Zeph. 3:8Pour out Your fury on the Gentiles, #Job 18:21; 1 Thess. 4:5; (2 Thess. 1:8)who do not know You,
And on the families who do not call on Your name;
For they have eaten up Jacob,
#Jer. 8:16Devoured him and consumed him,
And made his dwelling place desolate.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.