Jeremiah 10:11-24

Common English Bible

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

¹²But God made the earth by his might;
    he shaped the world by his wisdom,
    crafted the skies by his knowledge.
¹³At 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.
¹⁴Everyone is too foolish to understand;
    every goldsmith is dishonored by his idols,
        for their images are shams;
        they aren’t alive.
¹⁵They are a delusion, a charade;
        at the appointed time they will vanish!
¹⁶Jacob’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!

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

¹⁹How 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.
²⁰But 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.
²¹The 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.
²²Listen! 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.
²³I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own,
    that we’re not able to direct our paths.
²⁴So correct me, Lord, but with justice,
    not in your anger,
        or else you will reduce me to nothing.