Jeremiah 10
New American Standard Bible
A Satire on Idolatry
10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, house of Israel. 2 This 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;
3 For 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.
4 They (D)decorate the idol with silver and gold;
They (E)fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not totter.
5 They 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.
8 But they are altogether (N)stupid and foolish;
The instruction from idols is nothing but wood!
9 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;
Their clothing is of violet and purple;
They are all the (R)work of skilled people.
10 But 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.”
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 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.
14 Every 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.
15 They are (AG)worthless, a work of mockery;
At the (AH)time of their punishment they will perish.
16 The (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!
18 For 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.”
20 My (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.
21 For the shepherds have become stupid
And (AU)have not sought the Lord.
Therefore they have not prospered,
And (AV)all their flock is scattered.
22 The 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.
23 I 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.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 10:11 This verse is in Aram
- Jeremiah 10:16 Lit Fashioner
- Jeremiah 10:18 Lit find
- Jeremiah 10:19 Lit breaking
- Jeremiah 10:24 Lit diminish me
- Jeremiah 10:25 Or pasture
Jeremiah 10
Common English Bible
Living God or human handiwork
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.
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
- Jeremiah 10:11 10:11 is written in Aramaic.
- Jeremiah 10:17 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 10:18 Or find it
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible