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

“You must not learn the way of the nations,
    and you must not be dismayed by the signs of the heavens,
    for the nations are dismayed by them.
For the statutes of the peoples are vanity,
    for it is a tree cut down from the forest,
    the work of the hands of a craftsman with the tool.
He decorates it with silver and gold,
    they strengthen it with nails and hammers,
    so that it does not stagger.
They are like scarecrows[a] in a cucumber field,
    they cannot speak.
Indeed, they must be carried,
    for they cannot march.
You must not be afraid of them,
    for they cannot do evil;
furthermore, to do good is not in them.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 10:5 Hebrew “scarecrow”

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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