Jeremiah 10

1 Give ear to the word which the Lord says to you, O people of Israel:

Hear ye the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning you, O house of Israel:

2 This is what the Lord has said: Do not go in the way of the nations; have no fear of the signs of heaven, for the nations go in fear of them.

Thus hath said the Lord, Do not habituate yourselves on the way of the nations, and at the signs of the heavens be ye not dismayed; although the nations should be dismayed at them.

3 For that which is feared by the people is foolish: it is the work of the hands of the workman; for a tree is cut down by him out of the woods with his axe.

For the statutes of these people concern what is vanity; for it is but a tree which a man hath cut out of a forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

4 They make it beautiful with silver and gold; they make it strong with nails and hammers, so that it may not be moved.

With silver and with gold do they ornament it; with nails and with hammers do they fasten it, that it move not from its place.

5 It is like a pillar in a garden of plants, and has no voice: it has to be lifted, for it has no power of walking. Have no fear of it; for it has no power of doing evil and it is not able to do any good.

As a wrought-out palm-like column are they, and cannot speak; they must needs be borne, because they cannot step along. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do any harm, so also to do any good is not in them.

6 There is no one like you, O Lord; you are great and your name is great in power.

Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord: thou [alone] art great, and great is thy name in might.

7 Who would not have fear of you, O King of the nations? for it is your right: for among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.

Who would not fear thee, O King of the nations? for to thee doth it appertain; because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, [they say] there is none like unto thee.

8 But they are together like beasts and foolish: the teaching of false gods is wood.

But at once shall they be shown to be brutish and foolish: it is a doctrine of vanities, it concerneth but wood.

9 Silver hammered into plates is sent from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the expert workman and of the hands of the gold-worker; blue and purple is their clothing, all the work of expert men.

The beaten out silver is brought from Tharshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the goldsmith: blue and purple is their clothing; the work of skilful men are they all.

10 But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and an eternal king: when he is angry, the earth is shaking with fear, and the nations give way before his wrath.

But the Lord God is the truth, he is the living God, and the everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall quake, and nations cannot endure his indignation.

11 This is what you are to say to them: The gods who have not made the heavens and the earth will be cut off from the earth and from under the heavens.

Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, shall perish away from the earth, and from under these heavens.

12 He has made the earth by his power, he has made the world strong in its place by his wisdom, and by his wise design the heavens have been stretched out.

He made the earth by his power, he established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding he stretched out the heavens.

13 At the sound of his voice there is a massing of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mists go up from the ends of the earth; he makes the thunder-flames for the rain, and sends out the wind from his store-houses.

At the sound when he giveth a multitude of waters in the heavens, and causeth clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; when he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures:

14 Then every man becomes like a beast without knowledge; every gold-worker is put to shame by the image he has made: for his metal image is deceit, and there is no breath in them.

Then standeth every man as brutish without knowledge; ashamed is every goldsmith because of the graven image; for falsehood is his molten work, and there is no breath therein.

15 They are nothing, a work of error: in the time of their punishment, destruction will overtake them.

They are vanity, the work of deception; in the time of their punishment shall they vanish.

16 The heritage of Jacob is not like these; for the maker of all things is his heritage: the Lord of armies is his name.

Not like these is the portion of Jacob; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: The Lord of hosts is his name.

17 Get your goods together and go out of the land, O you who are shut up in the walled town.

Gather up thy wares from the ground, O inhabitress of the beleaguered city.

18 For the Lord has said, I will send the people in flight like a stone from the land at this time, troubling them so that they will be conscious of it.

For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will cast forth as with a sling the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will enclose them, in order that they may find them.

19 Sorrow is mine for I am wounded! my wound may not be made well; and I said, Cruel is my disease, I may not be free from it.

Woe is me for my breach! my wound is painful; but I thought, This is but pain, and I shall be able to bear it.

20 My tent is pulled down and all my cords are broken: my children have gone from me, and they are not: no longer is there anyone to give help in stretching out my tent and hanging up my curtains.

[But now] my tent is laid waste, and all my cords are torn asunder; my children are gone away from me, and they are not [here]; there is no one to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

21 For the keepers of the sheep have become like beasts, not looking to the Lord for directions: so they have not done wisely and all their flocks have been put to flight.

For the shepherds were brutish, and the Lord had they not sought; therefore have they not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered.

22 News is going about, see, it is coming, a great shaking is coming from the north country, so that the towns of Judah may be made waste and become the living-place of jackals.

Behold, the noise of the report is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to render the cities of Judah desolate, a dwelling for monsters.

23 O Lord, I am conscious that a man's way is not in himself: man has no power of guiding his steps.

I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in his own power: it is not in man that passeth away to direct his own steps.

24 O Lord, put me right, but with wise purpose; not in your wrath, or you will make me small.

Correct me, O Lord, but with justice; not in thy anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

25 Let your wrath be let loose on the nations which have no knowledge of you, and on the families who give no worship to your name: for they have made a meal of Jacob, truly they have made a meal of him and put an end to him and made his fields a waste.

Pour out thy fury over the nations that know thee not, and over the families that have not called on thy name; for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his dwelling desolate.