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Jeremiah 10:1-16
New Living Translation
Jeremiah 10:1-16
New Living Translation
Idolatry Brings Destruction
10 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O Israel! 2 This is what the Lord says:
“Do not act like the other nations,
who try to read their future in the stars.
Do not be afraid of their predictions,
even though other nations are terrified by them.
3 Their ways are futile and foolish.
They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
4 They decorate it with gold and silver
and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails
so it won’t fall over.
5 Their gods are like
helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field!
They cannot speak,
and they need to be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of such gods,
for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.”
6 Lord, there is no one like you!
For you are great, and your name is full of power.
7 Who would not fear you, O King of nations?
That title belongs to you alone!
Among all the wise people of the earth
and in all the kingdoms of the world,
there is no one like you.
8 People who worship idols are stupid and foolish.
The things they worship are made of wood!
9 They bring beaten sheets of silver from Tarshish
and gold from Uphaz,
and they give these materials to skillful craftsmen
who make their idols.
Then they dress these gods in royal blue and purple robes
made by expert tailors.
10 But the Lord is the only true God.
He is the living God and the everlasting King!
The whole earth trembles at his anger.
The nations cannot stand up to his wrath.
11 Say this to those who worship other gods: “Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth and from under the heavens.”[a]
12 But the Lord made the earth by his power,
and he preserves it by his wisdom.
With his own understanding
he stretched out the heavens.
13 When he speaks in the thunder,
the heavens roar with rain.
He causes the clouds to rise over the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses.
14 The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge!
The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make,
for their carefully shaped works are a fraud.
These idols have no breath or power.
15 Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies!
On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed.
16 But the God of Israel[b] is no idol!
He is the Creator of everything that exists,
including Israel, his own special possession.
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
Jeremiah 10:1-16
New International Version
Jeremiah 10:1-16
New International Version
God and Idols(A)
10 Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says:
“Do not learn the ways of the nations(B)
or be terrified by signs(C) in the heavens,
though the nations are terrified by them.
3 For the practices of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman(D) shapes it with his chisel.(E)
4 They adorn it with silver(F) and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.(G)
5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
their idols cannot speak;(H)
they must be carried
because they cannot walk.(I)
Do not fear them;
they can do no harm(J)
nor can they do any good.”(K)
6 No one is like you,(L) Lord;
you are great,(M)
and your name is mighty in power.
7 Who should not fear(N) you,
King of the nations?(O)
This is your due.
Among all the wise leaders of the nations
and in all their kingdoms,
there is no one like you.
8 They are all senseless(P) and foolish;(Q)
they are taught by worthless wooden idols.(R)
9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish(S)
and gold from Uphaz.
What the craftsman and goldsmith have made(T)
is then dressed in blue and purple—
all made by skilled workers.
10 But the Lord is the true God;
he is the living God,(U) the eternal King.(V)
When he is angry,(W) the earth trembles;(X)
the nations cannot endure his wrath.(Y)
11 “Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish(Z) from the earth and from under the heavens.’”[a]
12 But God made(AA) the earth(AB) by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom(AC)
and stretched out the heavens(AD) by his understanding.
13 When he thunders,(AE) the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning(AF) with the rain(AG)
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.(AH)
14 Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is shamed(AI) by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;(AJ)
they have no breath in them.
15 They are worthless,(AK) the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.
16 He who is the Portion(AL) of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the Maker of all things,(AM)
including Israel, the people of his inheritance(AN)—
the Lord Almighty is his name.(AO)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 10:11 The text of this verse is in Aramaic.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.