Ἱερεμίας 10
1 ἀκούσατε τὸν λόγον κυρίου ὃν ἐλάλησεν ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς οἶκος Ισραηλ
Listen to the message the Lord is sending to you, people of Israel.
2 τάδε λέγει κύριος κατὰ τὰς ὁδοὺς τῶν ἐθνῶν μὴ μανθάνετε καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν σημείων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ μὴ φοβεῖσθε ὅτι φοβοῦνται αὐτὰ τοῖς προσώποις αὐτῶν
This is what the Lord says: Don't adopt the practices of other nations. Don't be terrified as they are by signs in the heavens that they interpret as predicting disaster.
3 ὅτι τὰ νόμιμα τῶν ἐθνῶν μάταια ξύλον ἐστὶν ἐκ τοῦ δρυμοῦ ἐκκεκομμένον ἔργον τέκτονος καὶ χώνευμα
The religious beliefs of the peoples are pointless. They chop down a tree in the forest and a craftsman carves the wood with a tool to make an idol.
4 ἀργυρίῳ καὶ χρυσίῳ κεκαλλωπισμένα ἐστίν ἐν σφύραις καὶ ἥλοις ἐστερέωσαν αὐτά καὶ οὐ κινηθήσονται
They decorate it with silver and gold, and nail it down with a hammer so it won't fall over.
5 αἰρόμενα ἀρθήσονται ὅτι οὐκ ἐπιβήσονται μὴ φοβηθῆτε αὐτά ὅτι οὐ μὴ κακοποιήσωσιν καὶ ἀγαθὸν οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς
Just like a scarecrow in a field of cucumbers, their idols can't speak. They have to be carried around because they can't walk. You don't have to be afraid of them because they can't hurt you—and they can't do you any good either.
There's no one like you, Lord! You are so great! You are incredibly powerful!
Everyone should respect you, King of the nations. This is how you should be treated. There's no one like you among all the wise men of every nation and kingdom.
Yet these “wise men” are completely foolish and stupid, because they think they can be taught by useless idols made of wood!
9 ἀργύριον τορευτόν ἐστιν οὐ πορεύσονται ἀργύριον προσβλητὸν ἀπὸ Θαρσις ἥξει χρυσίον Μωφαζ καὶ χεὶρ χρυσοχόων ἔργα τεχνιτῶν πάντα ὑάκινθον καὶ πορφύραν ἐνδύσουσιν αὐτά
Sheets of hammered silver are shipped in from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, to be used by craftsmen and metalworkers. These idols are dressed in clothes of blue and purple made by experts.
But the Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and eternal King. The earth shakes when he is angry; the nations can't withstand his fury.
11 οὕτως ἐρεῖτε αὐτοῖς θεοί οἳ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν οὐκ ἐποίησαν ἀπολέσθωσαν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς καὶ ὑποκάτωθεν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τούτου
This is what you are to tell the nations: “These gods, who didn't make either the heavens or the earth, will be wiped out from this earth and from under these heavens.”
12 κύριος ὁ ποιήσας τὴν γῆν ἐν τῇ ἰσχύι αὐτοῦ ὁ ἀνορθώσας τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ καὶ τῇ φρονήσει αὐτοῦ ἐξέτεινεν τὸν οὐρανὸν
It was God who made the earth by his power. He created the world by his wisdom and by his understanding he put the heavens in place.
13 καὶ πλῆθος ὕδατος ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἀνήγαγεν νεφέλας ἐξ ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς ἀστραπὰς εἰς ὑετὸν ἐποίησεν καὶ ἐξήγαγεν φῶς ἐκ θησαυρῶν αὐτοῦ
The waters of the heavens rain down with a roar at his command. He makes the clouds to rise all over the earth. He makes lightning to accompany rain, and sends the wind from his storehouses.
14 ἐμωράνθη πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ἀπὸ γνώσεως κατῃσχύνθη πᾶς χρυσοχόος ἐπὶ τοῖς γλυπτοῖς αὐτοῦ ὅτι ψευδῆ ἐχώνευσαν οὐκ ἔστιν πνεῦμα ἐν αὐτοῖς
Everyone is stupid; they don't know anything. Every metalworker is embarrassed by the idols they make. For their images made of molten metal are fraudulent—they're not alive!
15 μάταιά ἐστιν ἔργα ἐμπεπαιγμένα ἐν καιρῷ ἐπισκοπῆς αὐτῶν ἀπολοῦνται
They are useless, an object to be laughed at. They will be destroyed at the time of their punishment.
16 οὐκ ἔστιν τοιαύτη μερὶς τῷ Ιακωβ ὅτι ὁ πλάσας τὰ πάντα αὐτὸς κληρονομία αὐτοῦ κύριος ὄνομα αὐτῷ
The God of Jacob is not like these idols, for he is the Creator of everything, and Israel is the tribe that belongs to him. The Lord Almighty is his name.
17 συνήγαγεν ἔξωθεν τὴν ὑπόστασίν σου κατοικοῦσα ἐν ἐκλεκτοῖς
You people living in Jerusalem under siege, get all your things together ready to leave,
18 ὅτι τάδε λέγει κύριος ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ σκελίζω τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν γῆν ταύτην ἐν θλίψει ὅπως εὑρεθῇ ἡ πληγή σου
because this is what the Lord says: Look! Right now I'm about to throw out the people living in this country, bringing them trouble they will really feel.
19 οὐαὶ ἐπὶ συντρίμματί σου ἀλγηρὰ ἡ πληγή σου κἀγὼ εἶπα ὄντως τοῦτο τὸ τραῦμά μου καὶ κατέλαβέν με
The people of Jerusalem responded, “We're suffering terribly because we've been badly hurt—our injuries are really serious. We thought it wouldn't be that bad and that we could bear it.
20 ἡ σκηνή μου ἐταλαιπώρησεν ὤλετο καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ δέρρεις μου διεσπάσθησαν οἱ υἱοί μου καὶ τὰ πρόβατά μου οὔκ εἰσιν οὐκ ἔστιν ἔτι τόπος τῆς σκηνῆς μου τόπος τῶν δέρρεών μου
Our tents have been destroyed; all our ropes have been broken. Our children have been taken from us and are no more. We don't have anyone left to put up our tents or hang our curtains.”
21 ὅτι οἱ ποιμένες ἠφρονεύσαντο καὶ τὸν κύριον οὐκ ἐξεζήτησαν διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐνόησεν πᾶσα ἡ νομὴ καὶ διεσκορπίσθησαν
The “shepherds” have become stupid—they don't ask the Lord for advice. That's why they have failed, and all their flock has been scattered.
22 φωνὴ ἀκοῆς ἰδοὺ ἔρχεται καὶ σεισμὸς μέγας ἐκ γῆς βορρᾶ τοῦ τάξαι τὰς πόλεις Ιουδα εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ κοίτην στρουθῶν
Listen to the news that an noisy army is invading from a country to the north. The towns of Judah will be knocked down, they will be places where only jackals live.
23 οἶδα κύριε ὅτι οὐχὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἡ ὁδὸς αὐτοῦ οὐδὲ ἀνὴρ πορεύσεται καὶ κατορθώσει πορείαν αὐτοῦ
I realize, Lord, that people don't control their own lives—no one really knows how to choose their way.
24 παίδευσον ἡμᾶς κύριε πλὴν ἐν κρίσει καὶ μὴ ἐν θυμῷ ἵνα μὴ ὀλίγους ἡμᾶς ποιήσῃς
Please discipline me fairly, Lord—not while you're angry, otherwise you'll kill me!
25 ἔκχεον τὸν θυμόν σου ἐπὶ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ εἰδότα σε καὶ ἐπὶ γενεὰς αἳ τὸ ὄνομά σου οὐκ ἐπεκαλέσαντο ὅτι κατέφαγον τὸν Ιακωβ καὶ ἐξανήλωσαν αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν νομὴν αὐτοῦ ἠρήμωσαν
Pour out your fury on the nations that don't recognize you as God, and on their families that don't worship you. For they have completely destroyed the Israelites, wiping us out. They have devastated our country.
