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
Idolatry Has Brought Ruin on Israel
1Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2Thus says the Lord:
Do not learn the way of the nations,
or be dismayed at the signs of the heavens;
for the nations are dismayed at them.
3For the customs of the peoples are false:
a tree from the forest is cut down,
and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan;
4people deck it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move.
5Their idols#10.5 Heb They are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and they cannot speak;
they have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil,
nor is it in them to do good.
6There is none like you, O Lord;
you are great, and your name is great in might.
7Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?
For that is your due;
among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is no one like you.
8They are both stupid and foolish;
the instruction given by idols
is no better than wood!#10.8 Meaning of Heb uncertain
9Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz.
They are the work of the artisan and of the hands of the goldsmith;
their clothing is blue and purple;
they are all the product of skilled workers.
10But the Lord is the true God;
he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
11Thus shall you say to them: The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.#10.11 This verse is in Aramaic
12It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
13When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightnings for the rain,
and he brings out the wind from his storehouses.
14Everyone is stupid and without knowledge;
goldsmiths are all put to shame by their idols;
for their images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
15They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16Not like these is the Lord,#10.16 Heb lacks the Lord the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
The Coming Exile
17Gather up your bundle from the ground,
O you who live under siege!
18For thus says the Lord:
I am going to sling out the inhabitants of the land
at this time,
and I will bring distress on them,
so that they shall feel it.
19Woe is me because of my hurt!
My wound is severe.
But I said, “Truly this is my punishment,
and I must bear it.”
20My tent is destroyed,
and all my cords are broken;
my children have gone from me,
and they are no more;
there is no one to spread my tent again,
and to set up my curtains.
21For the shepherds are stupid,
and do not inquire of the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
and all their flock is scattered.
22Hear, a noise! Listen, it is coming—
a great commotion from the land of the north
to make the cities of Judah a desolation,
a lair of jackals.
23I know, O Lord, that the way of human beings is not in their control,
that mortals as they walk cannot direct their steps.
24Correct me, O Lord, but in just measure;
not in your anger, or you will bring me to nothing.
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 him and consumed him,
and have laid waste his habitation.
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.