Jeremiah 10
1 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel;
Listen to the message the Lord is sending to you, people of Israel.
2 thus saith the LORD: Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them.
This is what the Lord says: Don't adopt the practices of other nations. Don't be terrified as they are by signs in the heavens that they interpret as predicting disaster.
3 For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for it is but a tree which one cutteth out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe.
The religious beliefs of the peoples are pointless. They chop down a tree in the forest and a craftsman carves the wood with a tool to make an idol.
4 They deck it with silver and with gold, they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
They decorate it with silver and gold, and nail it down with a hammer so it won't fall over.
5 They are like a pillar in a garden of cucumbers, and speak not; they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.
Just like a scarecrow in a field of cucumbers, their idols can't speak. They have to be carried around because they can't walk. You don't have to be afraid of them because they can't hurt you—and they can't do you any good either.
6 There is none like unto Thee, O LORD; Thou art great, and Thy name is great in might.
There's no one like you, Lord! You are so great! You are incredibly powerful!
7 Who would not fear Thee, O king of the nations? For it befitteth Thee; forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royalty, there is none like unto Thee.
Everyone should respect you, King of the nations. This is how you should be treated. There's no one like you among all the wise men of every nation and kingdom.
8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the vanities by which they are instructed are but a stock;
Yet these “wise men” are completely foolish and stupid, because they think they can be taught by useless idols made of wood!
9 Silver beaten into plates which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; blue and purple is their clothing; they are all the work of skilful men.
Sheets of hammered silver are shipped in from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, to be used by craftsmen and metalworkers. These idols are dressed in clothes of blue and purple made by experts.
10 But the LORD God is the true God, He is the living God, and the everlasting King; at His wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide His indignation.
But the Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and eternal King. The earth shakes when he is angry; the nations can't withstand his fury.
11 Thus shall ye say unto them: 'The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens.'
This is what you are to tell the nations: “These gods, who didn't make either the heavens or the earth, will be wiped out from this earth and from under these heavens.”
12 He that hath made the earth by His power, that hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His understanding;
It was God who made the earth by his power. He created the world by his wisdom and by his understanding he put the heavens in place.
13 At the sound of His giving a multitude of waters in the heavens, when He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; when He maketh lightnings with the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasuries;
The waters of the heavens rain down with a roar at his command. He makes the clouds to rise all over the earth. He makes lightning to accompany rain, and sends the wind from his storehouses.
14 Every man is proved to be brutish, without knowledge, every goldsmith is put to shame by the graven image, his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Everyone is stupid; they don't know anything. Every metalworker is embarrassed by the idols they make. For their images made of molten metal are fraudulent—they're not alive!
15 They are vanity, a work of delusion; in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
They are useless, an object to be laughed at. They will be destroyed at the time of their punishment.
16 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.
The God of Jacob is not like these idols, for he is the Creator of everything, and Israel is the tribe that belongs to him. The Lord Almighty is his name.
17 Gather up thy wares from the ground, O thou that abidest in the siege.
You people living in Jerusalem under siege, get all your things together ready to leave,
18 For thus saith the LORD: Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and will distress them, that they may feel it.
because this is what the Lord says: Look! Right now I'm about to throw out the people living in this country, bringing them trouble they will really feel.
19 Woe is me for my hurt! My wound is grievous; but I said: 'This is but a sickness, and I must bear it.'
The people of Jerusalem responded, “We're suffering terribly because we've been badly hurt—our injuries are really serious. We thought it wouldn't be that bad and that we could bear it.
20 My tent is spoiled, and all my cords are broken; my children are gone forth of me, and they are not; there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
Our tents have been destroyed; all our ropes have been broken. Our children have been taken from us and are no more. We don't have anyone left to put up our tents or hang our curtains.”
21 For the shepherds are become brutish, and have not inquired of the LORD; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered.
The “shepherds” have become stupid—they don't ask the Lord for advice. That's why they have failed, and all their flock has been scattered.
22 Hark! a report, behold, it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, a dwelling-place of jackals.
Listen to the news that an noisy army is invading from a country to the north. The towns of Judah will be knocked down, they will be places where only jackals live.
23 O LORD, I know that man's way is not his own; it is not in man to direct his steps as he walketh.
I realize, Lord, that people don't control their own lives—no one really knows how to choose their way.
24 O LORD, correct me, but in measure; not in Thine anger, lest Thou diminish me.
Please discipline me fairly, Lord—not while you're angry, otherwise you'll kill me!
25 Pour out Thy wrath upon the nations that know Thee not, and upon the families that call not on Thy name; for they have devoured Jacob, yea, they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.
Pour out your fury on the nations that don't recognize you as God, and on their families that don't worship you. For they have completely destroyed the Israelites, wiping us out. They have devastated our country.
