Jeremiah 10
Evangelical Heritage Version
False Gods and the True God
10 Hear the word that the Lord is speaking to you, house of Israel.
2 This is what the Lord says.
Do not learn the ways of the nations,
or be frightened by signs in the heavens,
although the nations are frightened by them.
3 The rituals of the peoples are worthless.
They cut down a tree in the forest.
Then the hands of a craftsman work it with an ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold,
but they have to nail it down with hammers,
so that it will not tip over.
5 Their idols are like a scarecrow in a melon[a] patch.
They cannot speak.
They must be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them. They can do no harm,
nor can they do any good.
6 No one is like you, Lord.
You are great and your name is powerful.
7 Is there anyone who should not fear you, King of the Nations?
That is what you deserve.
Among all the wise men of the nations
and in all their kingdoms,
there is no one like you.
8 They are stupid and foolish,
because they are instructed by worthless idols made of wood.
9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold is brought from Uphaz.
The handiwork of a goldsmith
and the work of a craftsman,
their idols are dressed in blue and purple.
But they are nothing but the work of skilled craftsmen.
10 But the Lord is the true God.
He is the living God, the eternal King.
The earth quakes at his wrath.
The nations cannot endure his fury.
11 You are to say this to them:
“These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth,
will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”[b]
12 But the one who made the earth by his power,
established the world by his wisdom,
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding—
13 he thunders, and the waters in the heavens roar.
He makes storm clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings out the wind from his warehouses.
14 But as for mankind, they are all stupid.
Their knowledge has dried up.
Every goldsmith is embarrassed by his idols.
The images he makes are false.
There is no breath in them.
15 They are worthless,
an achievement to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment, they will perish.
16 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,
because he is the Maker of all things,
including Israel, the tribe that belongs to him.
The Lord of Armies is his name.
17 Pick up your pack from the ground,
you who live under siege.
18 For this is what the Lord says.
Watch, I am going to throw out those who live in the land at this time.
I am going to bring them distress that they will feel.
Jeremiah’s Lament
19 Woe to me because of my wound!
My injury is severe!
But I said, “Yes, this is my suffering,
and I must bear it.”
20 My tent is destroyed.
All its ropes are broken.
My children are gone, and they are no more.
No one is left to pitch my tent
or to set up my dwelling.
21 The shepherds have become as senseless as animals.
They do not seek the Lord.
That is why they do not prosper
and all their flock is scattered.
22 Listen! I hear noise—
a great commotion from a land in the north.
It will make the cities of Judah desolate.
It will make them a haunt for jackals.
Jeremiah’s Prayer
23 I know, Lord, that a man’s way is not his own,
nor can a man direct his own steps.
24 Correct me, Lord, but with justice,
not in your anger,
or you will reduce me to nothing.
25 Pour out your wrath on the nations who do not acknowledge you,
on the peoples who do not call on your name,
for they have devoured Jacob.
They have devoured him completely
and made his homeland desolate.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 10:5 Or cucumber
- Jeremiah 10:11 This verse is in Aramaic. The word for make (‘avad) sounds like the word for perish (’avad).
Jeremiah 10
Lexham English Bible
10 Hear the word that Yahweh speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says Yahweh:
“You must not learn the way of the nations,
and you must not be dismayed by the signs of the heavens,
for the nations are dismayed by them.
3 For the statutes of the peoples are vanity,
for it is a tree cut down from the forest,
the work of the hands of a craftsman with the tool.
4 He decorates it with silver and gold,
they strengthen it with nails and hammers,
so that it does not stagger.
5 They are like scarecrows[a] in a cucumber field,
they cannot speak.
Indeed, they must be carried,
for they cannot march.
You must not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil;
furthermore, to do good is not in them.”
6 There is none like you, O Yahweh,
you are great and your name is great in might.
7 Who would not revere you, O king of the nations?
For you it is fitting.
For among all the wise men of the nations,
and in all their kingdoms,[b]
there is none like you.
8 At the same time[c] they are stupid and foolish,
in the instruction of idols, it is wood.
9 Silver beaten from Tarshish is brought,
and gold from Uphaz,
the work of the craftsman and the hands of the goldsmith.
Blue and purple are their clothing,
all of them are the work of skillful people.
10 But Yahweh is the true God,
he is the living God,
and an everlasting king.[d]
Because of his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his anger.
11 “Thus[e] you shall say to them,
‘Gods who did not make the heavens and the earth
will perish from the earth and from under these heavens.
12 He is the maker of the earth by his power,
who created the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding he stretched out heaven.
13 When he utters his voice[f] there is a noise of water in the heavens,
and he causes the mist to rise from the ends[g] of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he causes the wind to go out from his storehouses.
14 Everyone[h] is stupid, without knowledge,[i]
every goldsmith is ashamed by his divine image,
for his cast image is an illusion,
and there is no breath in them.
15 They are vanity, a work of mockery,
at the time of their punishment, they will perish.
16 The portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the creator of everything,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance,
Yahweh of hosts is his name.
17 Gather your bundle from the ground,
you who live under the siege.’”
18 For thus says Yahweh,
“Look, I am about to sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time,
and I will bring distress to them, so that they may feel it.”
The Nation Accepts Its Judgment
19 Woe to me, because of my wound.
My wound is incurable.
But I said, “Surely this is my sickness,
and I must bear it.”
20 My tent is devastated,
and all my tent cords are torn.
My children have gone out from me,
and they are not.
There is no one who pitches my tent again,
or one who puts up my tent curtains.
21 For the shepherds have become stupid,
they do not seek Yahweh.
Therefore[j] they do not have insight,
and all of their flock are scattered.
22 Listen, news:[k]
Look, it is coming,
a great roar from the land of the north,
to make the cities of Judah a desolation,
a lair of jackals.
23 I know, O Yahweh, that to the human is not his own way,
nor to a person is the walking and the directing of his own step.
24 Chastise[l] me, O Yahweh, but in moderation,
not in your anger, lest you eradicate me.
25 Pour 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 and consumed him,
and they have caused his settlement to be desolate.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 10:5 Hebrew “scarecrow”
- Jeremiah 10:7 Hebrew “kingdom”
- Jeremiah 10:8 Literally “And in one”
- Jeremiah 10:10 Literally “a king of eternity”
- Jeremiah 10:11 Literally “Like this”
- Jeremiah 10:13 Literally “At the voice of his giving”
- Jeremiah 10:13 Hebrew “end”
- Jeremiah 10:14 Literally “All humankind”
- Jeremiah 10:14 Literally “from knowledge”
- Jeremiah 10:21 Literally “Unto thus”
- Jeremiah 10:22 Or “a report”
- Jeremiah 10:24 Or “Discipline”
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