Jeremiah 10

1 Hear the word, O house of Israel, That YHWH has spoken for you.

Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.

2 Thus said YHWH: “Do not accustom yourselves to the way of the nations, And do not be frightened by the signs of the heavens, For the nations are frightened by them.

This is what the LORD says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by the signs in the heavens, though the nations themselves are terrified by them.

3 For the statutes of the peoples are vanity, For one has cut a tree from a forest, Work of the hands of a craftsman, with an axe,

For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman.

4 They beautify it with silver and with gold, They fix it with nails and with hammers, And it does not stumble.

They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter.

5 They [are] stiff as a palm, and they do not speak, They are surely carried, for they do not step, Do not be afraid of them, for they do no evil, Indeed, to do good is also not in them.”

Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.”

6 Because there is none like You, O YHWH, You [are] great, and Your Name [is] great in might.

There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.

7 Who does not fear You, King of the nations? For it is befitting to You, For among all the wise of the nations, And in all their kingdom, there is none like You.

Who would not fear You, O King of nations? This is Your due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.

8 And as one they are brutish and foolish, An instruction of vanities [is] the tree itself.

But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!

9 Spread-out silver is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, Work of an artisan, and of the hands of a refiner, Their clothing [is] blue and purple, Work of the skillful—all of them.

Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz— the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.

10 And YHWH [is] a God of truth, He [is] a living God, and a perpetual King, The earth shakes from His wrath, And nations do not endure His indignation.

But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.

11 Thus you say to them, “The gods who have not made the heavens and earth, They perish from the earth, And from under these heavens.”

Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”

12 The Maker of the earth by His power, The Establisher of the world by His wisdom, Who, by His understanding, stretched forth the heavens—

The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

13 When He gives forth His voice, A multitude of waters [is] in the heavens, And He causes vapors to come up from the end of the earth, He has made lightnings for rain, And brings out wind from His treasures.

When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

14 Every man is brutish by knowledge, Every refiner is put to shame by a carved image, For his molten image [is] false. And there is no breath in them.

Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.

15 They [are] vanity, work of erring ones, They perish in the time of their inspection.

They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.

16 The Portion of Jacob [is] not like these, For He [is] the Framer of all things, And Israel [is] the rod of His inheritance, YHWH of Hosts [is] His Name.

The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance— the LORD of Hosts is His name.

17 Gather your merchandise from the land, O dweller in the bulwark,

Gather up your belongings from this land, you who live under siege.

18 For thus said YHWH: “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this time, And have been an adversary to them, So that they are found out.”

For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, at this time I will sling out the inhabitants of the land and bring distress upon them so that they may be captured.”

19 Woe to me for my breaking, My striking has been grievous, And I said, “Surely this [is] my sickness, and I bear it.”

Woe to me because of my brokenness; my wound is grievous! But I said, “This is truly my sickness, and I must bear it.”

20 My tent has been spoiled, And all my cords have been broken, My sons have gone out from me, and they are not, There is none stretching out my tent anymore, And raising up my curtains.

My tent is destroyed, and all its ropes are snapped. My sons have departed from me and are no more. I have no one left to pitch my tent or set up my curtains.

21 For the shepherds have become brutish, And they have not sought YHWH, Therefore they have not acted wisely, And all their flock is scattered.

For the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.

22 A voice of a report, behold, it has come, Even a great shaking from the north country, To make the cities of Judah a desolation, A habitation of dragons.

Listen! The sound of a report is coming— a great commotion from the land to the north. The cities of Judah will be made a desolation, a haunt for jackals.

23 I have known, O YHWH, that not of man [is] his way, Not of man [is] the going and establishing of his step.

I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.

24 Discipline me, O YHWH, only in judgment, Not in Your anger, lest You make me small.

Correct me, O LORD, but only with justice— not in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.

25 Pour out Your fury on the nations that have not known You, And on the families that have not called on Your Name, For they have eaten up Jacob, Indeed, they have eaten him up, indeed, they consume him, And they have made his habitation desolate!

Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, and on the families that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have consumed him and finished him off; they have devastated his homeland.