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Yahweh Alone Is the Living God

10 Hear the word which Yahweh speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says Yahweh,

(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;
For the statutes of the peoples are (B)vanity
Because (C)it is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
They (D)make it beautiful with silver and with gold;
They (E)strengthen it with nails and with hammers
So that it will not totter.
Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,
And they (F)cannot speak;
They must be (G)carried
Because they cannot take a step!
Do not fear them,
For they (H)can do no harm,
Nor can they do any good.”

(I)There is none like You, O Yahweh;
You are (J)great, and great is Your name in might.
(K)Who would not fear You, O (L)King of the nations?
Indeed it is Your due!
For among all the (M)wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
But they are altogether (N)senseless and foolish;
They are in a discipline of [a]vanities—it is mere wood!
Beaten (O)silver is brought from (P)Tarshish,
And (Q)gold from Uphaz,
The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;
Blue and purple are their clothing;
They are all the (R)work of wise craftsmen.
10 But Yahweh is the (S)true God;
He is the (T)living God and the (U)everlasting King.
At His wrath the (V)earth quakes,
And the nations cannot (W)endure His indignation.

11 [b]Thus 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 [c]the heavens.”

12 It 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.
13 When He gives forth His (AC)voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And He causes the (AD)clouds to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain,
And brings out the (AE)wind from His storehouses.
14 Every man is (AF)senseless, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven images;
For his molten images are a lie,
And there is no breath in them.
15 They are (AG)vanity, a work of mockery;
In the (AH)time of their punishment they will perish.
16 The (AI)portion of Jacob is not like these;
For the [d](AJ)Maker of all is He,
And (AK)Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
(AL)Yahweh of hosts is His name.

17 (AM)Gather up your bundle from the ground,
You who inhabit a land under siege!

18 For thus says Yahweh,

“Behold, I am (AN)slinging out the inhabitants of the land
At this time,
And will cause them distress,
That they may find it.”

19 (AO)Woe is me, because of my [e]injury!
My (AP)wound is desperately sick.
But I said, “Truly this is a sickness,
And I (AQ)must bear it.”
20 My (AR)tent is destroyed,
And all my ropes are torn out;
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.
21 For the shepherds have become senseless
And (AU)have not sought Yahweh;
Therefore they have not prospered,
And (AV)all their flock is scattered.
22 The sound of a (AW)report! Behold, it comes—
A great quaking (AX)out of the land of the north—
To (AY)make the cities of Judah
A desolation, a haunt of jackals.

23 I know, O Yahweh, that (AZ)a man’s way is not in himself,
(BA)Nor is it in a man who walks to [f]direct his steps.
24 (BB)Discipline me, O Yahweh, but with justice;
Not with Your anger, lest You [g]bring me to nothing.
25 (BC)Pour out Your wrath on the nations that (BD)do not know You
And on the families that (BE)do not call Your name,
For they have devoured Jacob;
They have (BF)devoured him and consumed him
And have made desolate his [h]abode.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 10:8 Or idols
  2. Jeremiah 10:11 This verse is in Aram
  3. Jeremiah 10:11 Or these
  4. Jeremiah 10:16 Lit Fashioner
  5. Jeremiah 10:19 Lit breaking
  6. Jeremiah 10:23 Lit establish
  7. Jeremiah 10:24 Lit diminish me
  8. Jeremiah 10:25 Or pasture

Living God or human handiwork

10 Listen to the word that the Lord has spoken to you, people of Israel!
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.
The rituals of the nations are hollow:
    a tree from the forest is chopped down
        and shaped by the craftsman’s tools.
It’s overlaid with silver and gold,
    and fastened securely with hammer and nails
        so it won’t fall over.
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.
Lord, no one is like you!
    You are great,
    and great is your mighty name.
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!
But they are both foolish and silly;
    they offer nothing
        because they are mere wood.
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.

11 Tell them this: The gods who didn’t make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.[a]

12 But God made the earth by his might;
    he shaped the world by his wisdom,
    crafted the skies by his knowledge.
13 At the sound of his voice,
    the heavenly waters roar.
    He raises the clouds from the ends of the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain,
    the wind from his treasuries.
14 Everyone is too foolish to understand;
    every goldsmith is dishonored by his idols,
        for their images are shams;
        they aren’t alive.
15 They are a delusion, a charade;
        at the appointed time they will vanish!
16 Jacob’s portion is utterly different
    because God has formed all things,
        including Israel, his very own people—
        the Lord of heavenly forces is his name!

Get ready for exile!

17 Pack your bags and get ready to leave,
    you who live under siege.[b]
18 The Lord proclaims:
I’m going to eject those who live in the land at this time;
    I will badger them until they leave.[c]

19 How terrible for me, due to my injury;
    my wound is terrible.
Yet I said to myself:
    This is my sickness,
        and I must bear it.
20 But now my tent is destroyed;
    all its ropes are cut,
        and my children are gone for good.
    There’s no one left to set up my tent frame
        and to attach the fabric.
21 The shepherd kings have lost their senses
    and don’t seek answers from the Lord.
That is why they have failed
    and their flock is scattered.
22 Listen! The sound is getting louder,
    a mighty uproar from the land of the north;
    it will reduce the towns of Judah to ruins,
        a den for wild dogs.
23 I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own,
    that we’re not able to direct our paths.
24 So correct me, Lord, but with justice,
    not in your anger,
        or else you will reduce me to nothing.
25 Pour out your wrath on the nations
        that ignore you
    and on the people
        who don’t call on you,
        since they have devoured Jacob;
        they have devoured him completely
            and ruined his country.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 10:11 10:11 is written in Aramaic.
  2. Jeremiah 10:17 Heb uncertain
  3. Jeremiah 10:18 Or find it