Idols and the Living God

10 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:

“Learn not the way of the nations,
    nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens
    because the nations are dismayed at them,
(A)for the customs of the peoples are vanity.[a]
(B)A tree from the forest is cut down
    and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
(C)They decorate it with silver and gold;
    (D)they fasten it with hammer and nails
    so that it cannot move.
Their idols[b] are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
    and (E)they cannot speak;
(F)they have to be carried,
    for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
    (G)for they cannot do evil,
    neither is it in them to do good.”

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Notas al pie

  1. Jeremiah 10:3 Or vapor, or mist
  2. Jeremiah 10:5 Hebrew They

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.

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