Jeremiah 10:1-10

Common English Bible

10 Listen to the word that the Lord has spoken to you, people of Israel!
² The Lord proclaims:
Don’t follow the ways of the nations
    or be troubled by signs in the sky,
        even though the nations are troubled by them.
³ The rituals of the nations are hollow:
    a tree from the forest is chopped down
        and shaped by the craftsman’s tools.
⁴ It’s overlaid with silver and gold,
    and fastened securely with hammer and nails
        so it won’t fall over.
⁵ They are no different than a scarecrow
    in a cucumber patch:
    they can’t speak;
    they must be carried
        because they can’t walk.
Don’t be afraid of them,
    because they can’t do harm or good.
⁶ Lord, no one is like you!
    You are great,
    and great is your mighty name.
⁷ Who wouldn’t fear you,
    king of the nations?
That is your due;
    among all the wise of the nations
    and in all their countries,
        there is no one like you!
⁸ But they are both foolish and silly;
    they offer nothing
        because they are mere wood.
⁹ Covered with silver from Tarshish
    and gold from Uphaz,
        they are the work of a craftsman
        and the hands of a goldsmith.
Clothed in blue and purple,
    all of them nothing more than the work of artisans.
¹⁰ But the Lord is the true God!
    He’s the living God and the everlasting king!
When he’s angry, the earth quakes;
    the nations can’t endure his rage.