Jeremiah 10

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

Hear ye the word which Yahweh hath spoken unto 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 Yahweh—Unto the way of the nations, become not ye accustomed, Nor at the signs of the heavens, be ye dismayed, —Because the nations 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,

For as for the prescribed customs of the peoples, vanity, they are, —For a tree out of the forest, one cutteth down, Work for the hands of a skilled workman 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.

With silver and with gold, he decketh it, —With nails and with hammers, they fasten them, 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.”

Mere palm-trunks turned, they are and cannot speak, They must needs be, carried, for they cannot take a step, Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do harm, And even to do good, is not in their power.

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

None, there is, like unto thee, O Yahweh, —Great, art, thou, And, great, is thy Name, for might.

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 revere thee, O King of nations? For, thee, doth it beseem; Forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations And throughout all their royal estate, None, there is like unto thee.

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

But at once, do they become brutish and stupid, —An example of utmost vanity, is, a tree!

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.

Silver spread into plates, from Tarshish is brought, And gold, from Uphaz, Work for the craftsman and for the hands of the smith, —Blue and purple, is their clothing, Work for the skilled, are they 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, Yahweh, is God in truth, He, is a God that, liveth, And a King of times age-abiding, —At his anger, quaketh the earth, And nations cannot endure his wrath.

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 unto them, The gods that made not the heavens, And the earth, Shall perish out of 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 that made the earth by his power, That established the world by his wisdom, —And by his understanding stretched 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.

At the voice that he uttered, there was a tumult of waters in the heavens, And he caused vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth, —The lightnings for rain, he made, And brought forth wind out of his treasuries.

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 son of earth hath become too brutish to discern, Every goldsmith, hath been put to shame by a graven image, —For a falsehood, is his molten image, Seeing there is no breath in them.

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

Vanity, they are, the handiwork of mockeries, —In the time of their visitation, 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 these, is the portion of Jacob, For the fashioner of all things, is, he, And, Israel, is his inherited sceptre, —Yahweh of hosts, is his name.

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

Fold up, from the ground thy travelling carpet, —O inhabitress 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 Yahweh, Behold me! slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this throw, —And I will distress them that they may discover it.

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! for my grievous injury, Severe, is my wound, —But, I, said, Verily, this, is an 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 laid waste, And all my tent-cords, are broken, —My children, are gone forth from me and they, are not. There is none, To stretch out any more my tent, 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, And Yahweh, have they not sought, —For this cause, have they 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.

The noise of a rumour! lo it hath come! Even a great commotion out of the land of the North, —To make the cities of Judah, A desolation, A den of 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 Yahweh, That not to a son of earth, pertaineth his own path, —Not, to the man who walketh, also to direct his own steps.

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

Chastise me, O Yahweh But yet in measure, —Not in thine anger, lest thou make me few.

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—Upon the nations that know thee not, and Upon the families that, upon thy Name, have not called, —For they have devoured Jacob Yea they have devoured him and consumed him, And, his habitation, have they made desolate.