Jeremiah 10

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

Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaketh to you, O house of Israel!

2 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.

Thus saith Jehovah: Conform ye not to the way of the heathen, And be not dismayed at the signs of the heavens, Because the heathen are dismayed at them!

3 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.

The customs of the nations are vanity. For a tree of the wood is cut down, It is wrought by the hands of the artificer with the axe,

4 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.

It is decked with silver and gold, And with nails and with hammers is it fastened, That it may not totter.

5 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.

They are like a turned palm-tree pillar, and cannot speak; They must be borne by men, for they cannot walk. Be not afraid of them, for they cannot hurt, Nor is it in their power to do good.

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

There is none like thee, O Jehovah! Thou art great, And great is thy name by mighty deeds.

7 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.

Who shall not fear thee, O king of nations, For to thee doth it belong! For among all the wise men of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, there is none like thee.

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

They are all brutish and without understanding; A doctrine of vanities is the stock.

9 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.

Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of the artificer and the founder; Blue and purple is their clothing; The work of the skilful is it all.

10 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.

But Jehovah is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting king; At his wrath the earth trembleth, And the nations are not able to abide his indignation.

11 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.

[[Thus shall ye say to them: The gods, that have not made the heavens and the earth, Shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.]]

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

He made the earth by his power; He established the world by his wisdom, And by his understanding he spread out the heavens.

13 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:

When he uttereth his voice there is an abundance of water in the heavens; He causeth clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings with rain; He bringeth the wind from his storehouses.

14 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.

Brutish is every one who hath not this knowledge; By his image is every founder put to shame, For his molten-work is deceit; There is no breath in it.

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

They are vanity, deceptive work; In the time of their punishment shall they perish.

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.

Not like them is He who is the portion of Jacob; He is the former of all things, And Israel is his allotted inheritance; Jehovah of hosts is his name.

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

Gather up thy goods out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress!

18 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.

For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will sling forth the inhabitants of the land at this time; I will distress them, so that they shall be taken.

19 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.

“Ah me! my wound!” [[saith the daughter of Zion; ]] “My bruise is deadly; Yet I say, This is my affliction, and I must bear it!

20 [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.

My tent is torn down, And all my cords broken. My children are gone forth from me, and are no more; There is none to stretch forth my tent any more, Or to set up my curtains.

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

For the shepherds have become brutish; They have not sought Jehovah; Therefore have they not prospered, And all their flock is dispersed.”

22 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.

[[Hark!]] the sound of tiding! Behold it cometh, And a great tumult from the land of the North, To make the cities of Judah desolate, A dwelling-place for jackals.

23 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.

“I know, O Jehovah, that the way of a man is not within his power, That it is not within the power of a man that walketh to establish his steps.

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

Chasten me, O Jehovah, but in measure; Not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing!

25 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.

Pour out thy wrath on the nations which acknowledge thee not, And on the kingdoms which call not on thy name! For they have devoured Jacob; They have devoured and consumed him, And laid waste his dwelling-place.”