Jeremiah 10

1 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:

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

2 thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at 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 customs of the peoples are vanity: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the 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 deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

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

5 They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.

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 There is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.

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

7 Who would not fear thee, O King of the nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is none like unto thee.

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 But they are together brutish and foolish: the instruction of idols, it is but a stock.

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

9 There is silver beaten into plates which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the artificer and of the hands of the goldsmith; blue and purple for their clothing; they are all the work of cunning men.

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 But the LORD 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.

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 shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the 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 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out 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 uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.

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 become brutish [and is] without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, 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, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

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 former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: the LORD 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 up thy wares out of the land, O thou that abidest in the siege.

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

18 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and will distress them, that they may feel [it].

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 is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is [my] grief, and I must 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 is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set 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 are become brutish, and have not inquired of the LORD: therefore they have not prospered, and all their flocks are 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 The voice of a rumour, behold it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling place of jackals.

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 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

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

24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

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

25 Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have devoured Jacob, yea, they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.

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.