Jeremiah 10

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

Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaketh 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.

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 the peoples are vanity, For one has cut a tree from a forest, Work of the hands of a craftsman, with an 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 They beautify it with silver and with gold, They fix it with nails and with hammers, And it does not stumble.

It is decked with silver and gold, And with nails and with hammers is it fastened, That it may 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.”

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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, work of erring ones, They perish in the time of their inspection.

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

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

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

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 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 to me for my breaking, My striking has been grievous, And I said, “Surely this [is] my sickness, and I 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 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 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 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 brutish; They have not sought Jehovah; Therefore have they not prospered, And all their flock is dispersed.”

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.

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

Chasten me, O Jehovah, but in measure; Not in thine anger, lest thou 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 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.”