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 are Worthless Scarecrows
1Hear the word that Adonai speaks to you, house of Israel,
2Thus says Adonai: “Do not learn the way of the nations or be frightened by signs of the heavens—though the nations are terrified by them.
3The customs of the peoples are useless: it is just a tree cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.
4They decorate it with silver and gold, and fasten it with hammer and nails so it won’t totter.
5Like a scarecrow in a cucumber garden, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk! Do not fear them for they can do no harm —nor do any good.”
6There is none like You, Adonai! You are great and great is Your Name in power.
7 Who should not fear You, Ruler of the nations? For it is your due! For among all the wise of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.
8They are totally stupid and foolish. Discipline is useless—it’s wood!
9Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz. The work of the craftsman and of the goldsmith’s hands is clothed in blue and purple— all the work of skillful men.
10But Adonai Elohim is truth. He is the living God and eternal King. At His wrath the earth quakes and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
11Thus you will say to them: “The gods—which did not make the heavens and the earth—will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”
12He made the earth by His power, established the world by His wisdom, and stretched out heaven by His understanding.
13When His voice thunders, waters in heaven roar. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth wind from His storehouses.
14Everyone is stupid, ignorant. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idol! His molten image is a fraud. There is no breath in them.
15They are futile, a work of mockery. In the time of their punishment they will perish.
16Jacob’s portion is not like these. For He is the Maker of all things and Israel, the tribe of His inheritance —Adonai-Tzva’ot is His Name.”
Coming Pain of Exile
17Pick up your bundle from the ground, you who live under siege.
18For thus says Adonai: “I am about to hurl the inhabitants out of the land. At this time I will press hard on them so that they will be found out.”
19Oy to me because of my brokenness! My wound is incurable. Yet I said, “This is simply a sickness and I must bear it.”
20“My tent is destroyed and all my ropes are snapped. My children are gone from me and are no more. No one is left to stretch out my tent or set up my tent curtains.
21For the shepherds are stupid! They have not sought Adonai. Therefore they have not acted wisely and all their flocks are scattered.”
22Listen! The sound of a report is coming— a great commotion out of the land of the north— to make the cities of Judah desolate, a haunt of jackals.
23I know, Adonai, that a man’s way is not his own, nor does man, as he walks, direct his steps.
24Chasten me, Adonai, but with justice, not in Your anger, lest You reduce me to nothing.
25Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You and on the families that do not call on Your Name. For they have devoured Jacob, devoured and consumed him, and destroyed his homeland.
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