Jeremiah 10-11

New American Standard Bible

A Satire on Idolatry

10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, house of Israel. ²This is what the Lord says:

“^(A)Do not learn the way of the nations,
And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens,
Although the nations are terrified by them;
³For the customs of the peoples are ^(B)futile;
For ^(C)it is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
⁴They ^(D)decorate the idol with silver and gold;
They ^(E)fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not totter.
⁵They are like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
And they ^(F)cannot speak;
They must be ^(G)carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not fear them,
For they ^(H)can do no harm,
Nor can they do any good.”

⁶^(I)There is none like You, Lord;
You are ^(J)great, and Your name is great in might.
⁷^(K)Who would not fear You, O ^(L)King of the nations?
For it is Your due!
For among all the ^(M)wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
⁸But they are altogether ^(N)stupid and foolish;
The instruction from idols is nothing but wood!
⁹Beaten ^(O)silver is brought from ^(P)Tarshish,
And ^(Q)gold from Uphaz,
The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;
Their clothing is of violet and purple;
They are all the ^(R)work of skilled people.
¹⁰But the Lord is the ^(S)true God;
He is the ^(T)living God and the ^(U)everlasting King.
The ^(V)earth quakes at His wrath,
And the nations cannot ^(W)endure His indignation.

¹¹^[a]This is what you shall say to them: “The ^(X)gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will ^(Y)perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”

¹²It is ^(Z)He who made the earth by His power,
Who ^(AA)established the world by His wisdom;
And by His understanding He has ^(AB)stretched out the heavens.
¹³When He utters His ^(AC)voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens,
And He makes the ^(AD)clouds ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain,
And brings out the ^(AE)wind from His storehouses.
¹⁴Every person is ^(AF)stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
For his cast metal images are deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
¹⁵They are ^(AG)worthless, a work of mockery;
At the ^(AH)time of their punishment they will perish.
¹⁶The ^(AI)Portion of Jacob is not like these;
For He is the ^[b]^(AJ)Maker of everything,
And ^(AK)Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
The ^(AL)Lord of armies is His name.

¹⁷^(AM)Pick up your bundle from the ground,
You who live under siege!
¹⁸For this is what the Lord says:
“Behold, I am ^(AN)slinging out the inhabitants of the land
At this time,
And I will cause them distress,
So that they may ^[c]be found.”

¹⁹^(AO)Woe to me, because of my ^[d]injury!
My ^(AP)wound is incurable.
But I said, “This certainly is a sickness,
And I ^(AQ)must endure it.”
²⁰My ^(AR)tent is destroyed,
And all my ropes are broken.
My ^(AS)sons have gone from me and are no more.
There is ^(AT)no one to stretch out my tent again
Or to set up my curtains.
²¹For the shepherds have become stupid
And ^(AU)have not sought the Lord.
Therefore they have not prospered,
And ^(AV)all their flock is scattered.
²²The sound of a ^(AW)report! Behold, it is coming—
A great roar ^(AX)from the land of the north—
To ^(AY)make the cities of Judah
A desolation, a haunt of jackals.

²³I know, Lord, that ^(AZ)a person’s way is not in himself,
^(BA)Nor is it in a person who walks to direct his steps.
²⁴^(BB)Correct me, Lord, but with justice;
Not with Your anger, or You will ^[e]bring me to nothing.
²⁵^(BC)Pour out Your wrath on the nations that ^(BD)do not know You,
And on the families who ^(BE)do not call upon Your name;
For they have devoured Jacob;
They have ^(BF)devoured him and consumed him,
And have laid waste his ^[f]settlement.

The Broken Covenant

11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ²“^(BG)Hear the words of this ^(BH)covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; ³and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “^(BI)Cursed is the one who does not obey the words of this covenant ⁴which I commanded your forefathers on the ^(BJ)day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the ^(BK)iron furnace, saying, ‘^(BL)Listen to My voice, and ^[g]do according to all that I command you; so you shall be ^(BM)My people, and I will be your God,’ ⁵in order to confirm the ^(BN)oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I replied, “^(BO)Amen, Lord.”

⁶And the Lord said to me, “^(BP)Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, ‘^(BQ)Hear the words of this covenant and ^(BR)do them. ⁷For I solemnly ^(BS)warned your fathers on the ^(BT)day I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, ^(BU)warning them persistently, saying, “^(BV)Listen to My voice.” ⁸Yet they ^(BW)did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in the stubbornness of their evil heart, each one of them; therefore I brought on them all the ^(BX)words of this covenant which I commanded them to do, but they did not.’”

⁹Then the Lord said to me, “A ^(BY)conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰They have ^(BZ)turned back to the wrongdoings of their ^[h]ancestors who ^(CA)refused to hear My words, and they ^(CB)have followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have ^(CC)broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.” ¹¹Therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am ^(CD)bringing disaster on them which they will ^(CE)not be able to escape; though they will ^(CF)cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. ¹²Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will ^(CG)go and cry out to the gods to whom they ^[i]burn incense, but they certainly will not save them in the time of their disaster. ¹³For your gods are ^[j]^(CH)as many as your cities, Judah; and ^[k]as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the ^(CI)shameful thing, altars for ^[l]^(CJ)burning incense to Baal.

¹⁴“So as for you, ^(CK)do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will ^(CL)not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster.

¹⁵What right has My ^(CM)beloved in My house
When ^(CN)she has carried out many evil schemes?
Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster,
^[m]So that you can rejoice?”
¹⁶The Lord named you
“A ^(CO)green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form”;
With the ^(CP)noise of a great ^[n]tumult
He has ^(CQ)set fire to it,
And its branches are worthless.

¹⁷The Lord of armies, who ^(CR)planted you, has ^(CS)pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, which they have ^[o]done to provoke Me by ^[p]^(CT)offering sacrifices to Baal.

Plots against Jeremiah

¹⁸Moreover, the Lord ^(CU)made it known to me and I knew it;
Then You showed me their deeds.
¹⁹But I was like a gentle ^(CV)lamb led to the slaughter;
And I did not know that they had ^(CW)devised plots against me, saying,
“Let’s destroy the tree with its ^[q]fruit,
And ^(CX)let’s cut him off from the ^(CY)land of the living,
So that his ^(CZ)name will no longer be remembered.”
²⁰But, Lord of armies, who ^(DA)judges righteously,
Who ^(DB)puts the ^[r]feelings and the heart to the test,
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You I have ^[s]committed my cause.

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the people of ^(DC)Anathoth, who are ^(DD)seeking your life, saying: “^(DE)Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you do not ^(DF)die by our hand”; ²²therefore, this is what the Lord of armies says: “Behold, I am going to ^(DG)punish them! The ^(DH)young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine; ²³and a remnant ^(DI)will not be left to them, because I will ^(DJ)bring disaster on the people of Anathoth—^(DK)the year of their punishment.”