Jeremiah 10
1 Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaketh to you, O house of Israel!
Hear you the word of the Lord, which he has spoken to you, O house of Israel.
2 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!
Thus says the Lord, Learn you not the ways of the heathen, and be not alarmed at the signs of the sky; for they are alarmed at them, [falling] on their faces.
3 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,
For the customs of the nations are vain; it is a tree cut out of the forest, the work of the carpenter, or a molten image.
4 It is decked with silver and gold, And with nails and with hammers is it fastened, That it may not totter.
[They are] beautified with silver and gold, they fix them with hammers and nails;
5 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.
they will set them up that they may not move; it is wrought silver, they will not walk, it is forged silver They must certainly be borne, for they can’t ride [of themselves]. Fear them not; for they can’t do any evil, and there is no good in them.
6 There is none like thee, O Jehovah! Thou art great, And great is thy name by mighty deeds.
7 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 They are all brutish and without understanding; A doctrine of vanities is the stock.
9 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 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 to them: The gods, that have not made the heavens and the earth, Shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.]]
Thus shall you say to them, Let the gods which have not made heaven and earth perish from off the earth, and from under this sky.
12 He made the earth by his power; He established the world by his wisdom, And by his understanding he spread out the heavens.
It is the Lord that made the earth by his strength, who set up the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the sky,
13 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.
and set abundance of waters in the sky, and brought up clouds from the ends of the earth; he made lightnings for the rain, and brought forth light out of his treasures.
14 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.
Every man is deprived of knowledge, every goldsmith is confounded because of his graven images; for he has cast false gods, there is no breath in them.
15 They are vanity, deceptive work; In the time of their punishment shall they perish.
They are vain works, wrought in mockery; in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
16 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.
Such is not the portion of Jacob; for he that formed all things, he is his inheritance; the Lord is his name.
17 Gather up thy goods out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress!
He has gathered your substance from without the lodged in choice [vessels].
18 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.
For thus says the Lord, Behold, I [will] overthrow the inhabitants of this land with affliction, that your plague may be discovered.
19 “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!
Alas for your ruin! your plague is grievous: and I said, Surely this is your wound, and it has overtaken you.
20 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.
Your tabernacle is in a ruinous state, it has perished; and all your curtains have been torn asunder: my children and my cattle are no more: there is no more any place for my tabernacle, [nor] place for my curtains.
21 For the shepherds have become brutish; They have not sought Jehovah; Therefore have they not prospered, And all their flock is dispersed.”
For the shepherds have become foolish, and have not sought the Lord; therefore the whole pasture has failed, and [the sheep] have been scattered.
22 [[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.
Behold, there comes a sound of a noise, and a great earthquake from the land of the north, to make the cities of Juda a desolation, and a resting-place for ostriches.
23 “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.
I know, O Lord, that man's way is not his own; neither shall a man go, and direct his going.
24 Chasten me, O Jehovah, but in measure; Not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing!
Chasten us, O Lord, but with judgement; and not in wrath, lest you make us few.
25 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.”
Pour out your wrath upon the nations that have not known you, and upon the families that have not called upon your name: for they have devoured Jacob, and consumed him, and have made his pasture desolate.
