Jeremiah 10:1-16
New American Standard Bible 1995
A Satire on Idolatry
10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord,
“(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 [a](B)delusion;
Because (C)it is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
4 “They (D)decorate it with silver and with gold;
They (E)fasten it with nails and with hammers
So that it will not totter.
5 “Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,
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, O Lord;
You are (J)great, and great is Your name in might.
7 (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.
8 But they are altogether (N)stupid and foolish
In their discipline of [b]delusion—[c]their idol is 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;
Violet and purple are their clothing;
They are all the (R)work of skilled men.
10 But the Lord 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 [d]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 the [e]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 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)stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his [f]idols;
For his molten images are deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
15 They are (AG)worthless, 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 [g](AJ)Maker of all is He,
And (AK)Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
The (AL)Lord of hosts is His name.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 10:3 Lit vanity
- Jeremiah 10:8 Lit vanities, or idols
- Jeremiah 10:8 Lit it is
- Jeremiah 10:11 This verse is in Aram
- Jeremiah 10:11 Or these heavens
- Jeremiah 10:14 Or graven image
- Jeremiah 10:16 Lit Fashioner
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
