Jeremiah 10
10
Idolatry and True Worship
1People of Israel, listen to the message that the LORD has for you. 2He says,
“Do not follow the ways of other nations;
do not be disturbed by unusual sights in the sky,
even though other nations are terrified.
3The religion of these people is worthless.
A tree is cut down in the forest;
it is carved by the tools of the woodcarver,
4and decorated with silver and gold.
It is fastened down with nails
to keep it from falling over.
5Such idols are like scarecrows in a field of melons;
they cannot speak;
they have to be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them:
they can cause you no harm,
and they can do you no good.”
6 LORD, there is no one like you;
you are mighty,
and your name is great and powerful.
7 #
Rev 15.4
Who would not honour you, the king of all nations?
You deserve to be honoured.
There is no one like you
among all the wise men of the nations
or among any of their kings.
8All of them are stupid and foolish.
What can they learn from wooden idols?#10.8 What can… idols?; or What their idols teach is worthless.
9Their idols are covered with silver from Spain
and with gold from Uphaz,
all the work of artists;
they are dressed in violet and purple cloth
woven by skilled weavers.
10But you, LORD, are the true God,
you are the living God
and the eternal king.
When you are angry, the world trembles;
the nations cannot endure your anger.
11(You people must tell them that the gods who did not make the earth and the sky will be destroyed. They will no longer exist anywhere on earth.)
A Hymn of Praise to God
12The LORD made the earth by his power;
by his wisdom he created the world
and stretched out the heavens.
13At his command the waters above the sky#10.13 waters above the sky: See Gen 1.6–8. roar;
he brings clouds from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning flash in the rain
and sends the wind from his storeroom.
14At the sight of this, people feel stupid and senseless;
those who make idols are disillusioned,
because the gods they make are false and lifeless.
15They are worthless and should be despised;
they will be destroyed when the LORD comes to deal with them.
16The God of Jacob is not like them;
he is the one who made everything,
and he has chosen Israel to be his very own people.
The LORD Almighty is his name.
The Coming Exile
17People of Jerusalem, you are under siege! Gather up your belongings. 18The LORD is going to throw you out of this land; he is going to crush you until not one of you is left. The LORD has spoken.
19The people of Jerusalem cried out,
“How badly we are hurt!
Our wounds will not heal.
And we thought this was something we could endure!
20Our tents are ruined;
the ropes that held them have broken.
Our children have all gone away;
there is no one left to put up our tents again;
there is no one to hang their curtains.”
21I answered, “Our leaders are stupid;
they do not ask the LORD for guidance.
This is why they have failed,
and our people have been scattered.
22Listen! News has come!
There is a great commotion in a nation to the north;
its army will turn the cities of Judah into a desert,
a place where jackals live.”
23 LORD, I know that no one is the master of his own destiny;
no person has control over his own life.
24Correct your people, LORD;
but do not be too hard on us
or punish us when you are angry;
that would be the end of us.
25Turn your anger on the nations that do not worship you
and on the people who reject you.
They have killed your people;
they have destroyed us completely
and left our country in ruins.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Jeremiah 10
10
The Lord and the Idols
1Family of Israel, listen to what the Lord says to you. 2This is what he says:
“Don’t live like the people from other nations.
Don’t be afraid of special signs in the sky,
even though the other nations are afraid of them.
3The customs of other people are worth nothing.
Their idols are nothing but wood from the forest.
They are made by a worker with his chisel.
4They decorate their idols with silver and gold.
With hammers and nails they fasten them down.
That keeps them from falling over.
5Their idols are like scarecrows in melon fields.
They cannot talk.
They cannot walk.
They must be carried.
Do not be afraid of those idols.
They can’t hurt you.
And they can’t help you either!”
6Lord, there is no one like you.
You are great.
Your name is great and powerful.
7Everyone should respect you, King of all nations.
You deserve their respect.
There are many wise men among the nations.
And there are wise men in all the kingdoms.
But none of them are as wise as you.
8Those wise men are stupid and foolish.
Their teachings come from worthless wooden idols.
9They use silver from Tarshish
and gold from Uphaz.
Their idols are made by craftsmen and goldsmiths.
They put blue and purple clothes on the idols.
All these things are made by skilled workers.
10But the Lord is the only true God.
He is the only living God, King forever.
The earth shakes when he is angry.
The nations cannot stand up to his anger.
11“Tell them this message: ‘These false gods did not make heaven and earth. But they will be destroyed and disappear from heaven and earth.’”
12God made the earth by his power.
He used his wisdom to build the world.
He used his understanding to stretch out the skies.
13When he thunders, the waters in the skies roar.
He makes clouds rise in the sky all over the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain.
He brings out the wind from his storehouses.
14People are so stupid and know so little.
Goldsmiths are made ashamed by their idols.
Those statues are only false gods.
They have no breath in them.
15They are worth nothing.
People make fun of them.
When they are judged, they will be destroyed.
16But God, who is Jacob’s Portion, is not like the idols.
God made everything.
And he made Israel to be his special people.
The Lord of heaven’s armies is his name.
Destruction Is Coming
17Get everything you own and prepare to leave.
You people of Judah are trapped in the city by your enemies.
18This is what the Lord says:
“At this time I will throw out the people of Judah who live in this land.
I will bring pain and trouble to them.
And they will really feel it.”
19How terrible it will be for me because of my injury.
I am injured and cannot be healed.
Yet I told myself,
“This is my sickness; I must suffer through it.”
20My tent is ruined.
All its ropes are broken.
My children have gone away and left me.
No one is left to put up my tent.
No one is left to set up a shelter for me.
21The shepherds are stupid.
They don’t ask the Lord.
So they do not have success.
Their flocks are scattered and lost.
22Listen! The news is coming.
The loud noise is coming from the north.
It will make the towns of Judah an empty desert.
They will become a home for wild dogs!
Jeremiah’s Prayer
23Lord, I know that a person’s life doesn’t really belong to him.
No one can control his own life.
24Lord, correct me, but be fair.
Don’t punish me in anger.
If you do, you will destroy me.
25Pour out your anger on other nations.
They do not know you.
They do not pray to you.
Those nations have destroyed Jacob’s family.
They have eaten him up.
They destroyed his homeland.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.