Jeremiah 10

1 Hear all of you the word which the LORD speaks unto you, O house of Israel:

Listen to the word that the Lord has spoken concerning you, O house of Israel.

2 Thus says the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

Thus says the Lord: “Do not choose to learn according to the ways of the Gentiles. And do not be willing to dread the signs of heaven, which the Gentiles fear.

3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

For the laws of the people are empty. For the work of the hand of the craftsman has cut a tree from the forest with an axe.

4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

He has adorned it with silver and gold. He has put it together with nail and hammer, so that it will not fall apart.

5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must essentially be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

They have been fabricated in the likeness of a palm tree, and they will not speak. They must be carried to be moved, because they do not have the ability to walk. Therefore, do not be willing to fear them, for they can do neither evil nor good.”

6 Forasmuch as there is none like unto you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.

O Lord, there is nothing similar to you. You are great, and your name is great in strength.

7 Who would not fear you, O King of nations? in order to you does it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto you.

Who will not fear you, O King of the nations? For honor is yours. Among all the wise of the nations, and within all their kingdoms, there is nothing similar to you.

8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.

Together, they will all be proven to be unwise and foolish. The doctrine of their vanity is made of wood.

9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.

Rolled silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. It is the work of a craftsman, and of the hand of a coppersmith. Hyacinth and purple is their clothing. All these things are the work of artists.

10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

But the Lord is the true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. Before his indignation, the earth will shake. And the Gentiles will not be able to withstand his threats.

11 Thus shall all of you say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

“And so, you shall speak to them in this way: The gods that have not made heaven and earth, let them perish from the earth and from among those places which are under heaven.

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

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

13 When he utters his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causes the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he makes lightnings with rain, and brings forth the wind out of his treasures.

At his voice, he grants a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he lifts up the clouds from the ends of the earth. He causes the lightning with the rain, and he leads forth the wind from his storehouses.

14 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

Every man has become a fool concerning knowledge; every artist has been confounded by his graven image. For what he has formed is false, and there is no spirit in these things.

15 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

These things are empty, and they are a work deserving of ridicule. In the time of their visitation, they will perish.

16 The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.

Jacob’s portion is not like their portion. For his portion is from the One who formed all things. And Israel is the staff of his inheritance. The Lord of hosts is his name.

17 Gather up your wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.

Gather your shame from the earth, you who are living under siege.”

18 For thus says the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.

For thus says the Lord: “Behold, in this turn, I will cast the inhabitants of the land far away. And I will afflict them no matter where they may be found.”

19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous; but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.

Woe to me, concerning my destruction! My wound is very grievous. And yet I said: Clearly, this infirmity is mine, and I will carry it.

20 My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone out of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

My tent has been destroyed. All my cords have been broken. My sons have gone away from me; they did not remain. There is no one to stretch out my tent any more, nor to set up my curtains.

21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

For the pastors have acted foolishly, and they have not sought the Lord. Because of this, they have not understood, and all their flock has been dispersed.

22 Behold, the noise of the bruit has come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.

Behold, the sound of a voice approaches, a great commotion from the land of the north: so that he may make the cities of Judah into a wilderness and into a dwelling place for serpents.

23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct his steps.

I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not his own. Neither is it given to man to walk and to direct his own steps.

24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.

Correct me, O Lord, yet truly, do so with judgment, and not in your fury. Otherwise, you will reduce me to nothing.

25 Pour out your fury upon the heathen that know you not, and upon the families that call not on your name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

Pour out your indignation upon the nations that have not known you, and upon the provinces that have not invoked your name. For they have fed upon Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and they have utterly destroyed his honor.