Jeremiah 10
10
1Listen to the message the Lord is sending to you, people of Israel. 2This is what the Lord says: Don't adopt the practices of other nations. Don't be terrified as they are by signs in the heavens that they interpret as predicting disaster.
3The religious beliefs of the peoples are pointless. They chop down a tree in the forest and a craftsman carves the wood with a tool to make an idol. 4They decorate it with silver and gold, and nail it down with a hammer so it won't fall over. 5Just like a scarecrow in a field of cucumbers, their idols can't speak. They have to be carried around because they can't walk. You don't have to be afraid of them because they can't hurt you—and they can't do you any good either.
6There's no one like you, Lord! You are so great! You are incredibly powerful! 7Everyone should respect you, King of the nations. This is how you should be treated. There's no one like you among all the wise men of every nation and kingdom. 8Yet these “wise men” are completely foolish and stupid, because they think they can be taught by useless idols made of wood!
9Sheets of hammered silver are shipped in from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, to be used by craftsmen and metal-workers. These idols are dressed in clothes of blue and purple made by experts.
10But the Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and eternal King. The earth shakes when he is angry; the nations can't withstand his fury.
11This is what you are to tell the nations: “These gods, who didn't make either the heavens or the earth, will be wiped out from this earth and from under these heavens.”#10:11. This verse which is addressed to foreign nations is written in Aramaic, the common language of the time.
12It was God who made the earth by his power. He created the world by his wisdom and by his understanding he put the heavens in place. 13The waters of the heavens rain down with a roar at his command. He makes the clouds to rise all over the earth. He makes lightning to accompany rain, and sends the wind from his storehouses.
14Everyone is stupid; they don't know anything. Every metalworker is embarrassed by the idols they make. For their images made of molten metal are fraudulent—they're not alive! 15They are useless, an object to be laughed at. They will be destroyed at the time of their punishment.
16The God of Jacob is not like these idols, for he is the Creator of everything, and Israel is the tribe that belongs to him. The Lord Almighty is his name.
17You people living in Jerusalem#10:17. “People living in Jerusalem”: supplied for clarity. under siege, get all your things together ready to leave, 18because this is what the Lord says: Look! Right now I'm about to throw out the people living in this country, bringing them trouble they will really feel.#10:18. The meaning of the Hebrew of this last clause is uncertain.
19The people of Jerusalem responded,#10:19. “The people of Jerusalem responded”: supplied for clarity. “We're suffering terribly because we've been badly hurt—our injuries are really serious. We thought it wouldn't be that bad and that we could bear it. 20Our tents#10:20. “Tents” are symbolic of the houses in Jerusalem. have been destroyed; all our ropes have been broken. Our children have been taken from us and are no more. We don't have anyone left to put up our tents or hang our curtains.”
21The “shepherds”#10:21. “Shepherds”: referring to the nation's leaders. have become stupid—they don't ask the Lord for advice. That's why they have failed, and all their flock has been scattered.
22Listen to the news that a noisy army is invading from a country to the north. The towns of Judah will be knocked down, they will be places where only jackals live.
23I#10:23. Jeremiah is speaking. realize, Lord, that people don't control their own lives—no one really knows how to choose their way. 24Please discipline me fairly, Lord—not while you're angry, otherwise you'll kill me! 25Pour out your fury on the nations that don't recognize you as God, and on their families that don't worship you. For they have completely destroyed the Israelites, wiping us out. They have devastated our country.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Jeremiah 10
10
1 Hear the word that Yahweh speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2Thus says Yahweh:
“You must not learn the way of the nations,
and you must not be dismayed by the signs of the heavens,
for the nations are dismayed by them.
3For the statutes of the peoples are vanity,
for it is a tree cut down from the forest,
the work of the hands of a craftsman with the tool.
4He decorates it with silver and gold,
they strengthen it with nails and hammers,
so that it does not stagger.
5They are like scarecrows#Hebrew “scarecrow” in a cucumber field,
they cannot speak.
Indeed, they must be carried,
for they cannot march.
You must not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil;
furthermore, to do good is not in them.”
6There is none like you, O Yahweh,
you are great and your name is great in might.
7Who would not revere you, O king of the nations?
For you it is fitting.
For among all the wise men of the nations,
and in all their kingdoms,#Hebrew “kingdom”
there is none like you.
8At the same time#Literally “And in one” they are stupid and foolish,
in the instruction of idols, it is wood.
9Silver beaten from Tarshish is brought,
and gold from Uphaz,
the work of the craftsman and the hands of the goldsmith.
Blue and purple are their clothing,
all of them are the work of skillful people.
10But Yahweh is the true God,
he is the living God,
and an everlasting king.#Literally “a king of eternity”
Because of his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his anger.
11“Thus#Literally “Like this” you shall say to them,
‘Gods who did not make the heavens and the earth
will perish from the earth and from under these heavens.
12He is the maker of the earth by his power,
who created the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding he stretched out heaven.
13When he utters his voice#Literally “At the voice of his giving” there is a noise of water in the heavens,
and he causes the mist to rise from the ends#Hebrew “end” of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he causes the wind to go out from his storehouses.
14Everyone#Literally “All humankind” is stupid, without knowledge,#Literally “from knowledge”
every goldsmith is ashamed by his divine image,
for his cast image is an illusion,
and there is no breath in them.
15They are vanity, a work of mockery,
at the time of their punishment, they will perish.
16The portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the creator of everything,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance,
Yahweh of hosts is his name.
17Gather your bundle from the ground,
you who live under the siege.’ ”
18For thus says Yahweh,
“Look, I am about to sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time,
and I will bring distress to them, so that they may feel it.”
The Nation Accepts Its Judgment
19Woe to me, because of my wound.
My wound is incurable.
But I said, “Surely this is my sickness,
and I must bear it.”
20My tent is devastated,
and all my tent cords are torn.
My children have gone out from me,
and they are not.
There is no one who pitches my tent again,
or one who puts up my tent curtains.
21For the shepherds have become stupid,
they do not seek Yahweh.
Therefore#Literally “Unto thus” they do not have insight,
and all of their flock are scattered.
22Listen, news:#Or “a report”
Look, it is coming,
a great roar from the land of the north,
to make the cities of Judah a desolation,
a lair of jackals.
23I know, O Yahweh, that to the human is not his own way,
nor to a person is the walking and the directing of his own step.
24Chastise#Or “Discipline” me, O Yahweh, but in moderation,
not in your anger, lest you eradicate me.
25Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not know you,
and on the peoples that do not call on your name,
for they have devoured Jacob,
they have devoured and consumed him,
and they have caused his settlement to be desolate.
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