Jeremiah 10
10
The Lord Talks about Idols
1-2The Lord said:
Listen to me,
you people of Israel.
Don't follow the customs
of those nations
who become frightened
when they see something strange
happen in the sky.
3Their religion is worthless!
They chop down a tree,
carve the wood into an idol,
4cover it with silver and gold,
and then nail it down
so it won't fall over.
5An idol is no better
than a scarecrow.
It can't speak,
and it has to be carried,
because it can't walk.
Why worship an idol
that can't help or harm you?
Jeremiah Praises the Lord
6Our Lord, great and powerful,
you alone are God.
7 #
Rev 15.4. You are King of the nations.
Everyone should worship you.
No human anywhere on earth
is wiser than you.
8Idols are worthless,
and anyone who worships them
is a fool!
9Idols are made by humans.
A carver shapes the wood.
A metalworker hammers out
a covering of gold from Uphaz
or of silver from Tarshish.
Then the idol is dressed
in blue and purple clothes.
10You, Lord, are the only true
and living God.
You will rule for all time.
When you are angry
the earth shakes,
and nations are destroyed.
11You told me to say
that idols did not create
the heavens and the earth,
and that you, the Lord,
will destroy every idol.
12With your wisdom and power
you created the earth
and spread out the heavens.
13The waters in the heavens roar
at your command.
You make clouds appear—
you send the winds
from your storehouse
and make lightning flash
in the rain.
14People who make idols
are so stupid!
They will be disappointed,
because their false gods
are not alive.
15Idols are merely a joke,
and when the time is right,
they will be destroyed.
16But you, Israel's God,
created all things,
and you chose Israel
to be your very own.
Your name is the Lord
All-Powerful.
Judah Will Be Thrown from Its Land
17I said to the people of Judah,
“Gather your things;
you are surrounded.
18The Lord said these troubles
will lead to your capture,
and he will throw you
from this land
like a rock from a sling.”#10.18 like a rock from a sling: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
19The people answered,
“We are wounded
and doomed to die.
Why did we say
we could stand the pain?
20Our homes are destroyed;
our children are dead.
No one is left
to help us find shelter.”
21But I told them,
“Our leaders were stupid failures,
because they refused
to listen to the Lord.
And so we've been scattered
like sheep.
22“Sounds of destruction
rumble from the north
like distant thunder.
Soon our towns will be ruins
where only jackals#10.22 jackals: See the note at 9.11. live.”
Jeremiah Prays
23I know, Lord, that we humans
are not in control
of our own lives.
24Correct me, as I deserve,
but not in your anger,
or I will be dead.
25Our enemies refuse
to admit that you are God
or to worship you.
They have wiped out our people
and left our nation
lying in ruins.
So get angry
and sweep them away!
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Jeremiah 10: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
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.