Jeremiah 10

1 Hear ye the word which Yahweh hath spoken unto you, O house of Israel: —

Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaketh to you, O house of Israel!

2 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.

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 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:

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 With silver and with gold, he decketh it, —With nails and with hammers, they fasten them, that it may not totter.

It is decked with silver and gold, And with nails and with hammers is it fastened, That it may not totter.

5 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.

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

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

7 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.

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

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

9 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.

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, 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.

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

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 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.

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 Vanity, they are, the handiwork of mockeries, —In the time of their visitation, shall they perish.

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

16 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.

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 Fold up, from the ground thy travelling carpet, —O inhabitress of the fortress;

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

18 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.

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 grievous injury, Severe, is my wound, —But, I, said, Verily, this, is an affliction and I must 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, 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.

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 Yahweh, have they not sought, —For this cause, have they not prospered, 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 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.

[[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 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.

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

Chasten me, O Jehovah, but in measure; Not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing!

25 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.

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.”