Jeremiah 10

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

2 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 worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman.

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

5 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 You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.

7 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 altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!

9 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 eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.

11 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 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 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 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 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 Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.

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

18 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 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 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 have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.

22 Listen! The sound of a report is coming—a great commotion from the land to the north. It will make the cities of Judah a desolation, a haunt for jackals.

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

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

25 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.

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

2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

3 For the customs of the people [are] vain: for [one] cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

5 They [are] upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also [is it] in them to do good.

6 Forasmuch as [there is] none like unto thee, O LORD; thou [art] great, and thy name [is] great in might.

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

8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock [is] a doctrine of vanities.

9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple [is] their clothing: they [are] all the work of cunning [men].

10 But the LORD [is] the true God, he [is] the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

11 Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, [even] they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.

13 When he uttereth his voice, [there is] a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

14 Every man is brutish in [his] knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image [is] falsehood, and [there is] no breath in them.

15 They [are] vanity, [and] the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

16 The portion of Jacob [is] not like them: for he [is] the former of all [things]; and Israel [is] the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts [is] his name.

17 ¶ Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.

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

19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this [is] a grief, and I must bear it.

20 My tabernacle 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.

21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

22 Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, [and] a den of dragons.

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.

24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou 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 eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

1 Hear what the LORD saith unto you concerning the house of Israel.

2 Thus saith the LORD; Ye shall not learn the manner of the heathen, neither shall ye be afraid of the signs of heaven, as the heathen are afraid:

3 For the gods of the heathen are nothing. They hew down a tree in the land, and the master of the work maketh them with an axe.

4 And adorn them with silver and gold, and fasten them with nails and hammers, that they fall not down.

5 They are nothing but pillars covered. They cannot speak, so they must be carried, for they cannot walk. Therefore do not be afraid of them, for they can neither help nor hurt.

6 But unto thee, O LORD, is no man like: thou art great, and thy name is great, and canst prove it in deed.

7 Who shall not fear thee, O king of the heathen? For thou shalt be obeyed: for there is none like thee among all the wise men of the heathen, nor in all the kingdoms.

8 They are all fools and fools only: for a wood must be a vain service.

9 Silver plate is brought from the sea, and gold from Uphaz, prepared by the master and the goldsmith; yellow silk and purple are made for him: all this is the work of the wise.

10 But the LORD is a true God, a living God, an everlasting King. The earth trembleth at his wrath, and the heathen cannot bear his wrath.

11 Say ye therefore unto them, The gods which have not made heaven and earth must be destroyed from off the earth, and from under heaven.

12 And he made the earth by his power, and prepared the world by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

13 When he thundereth, the multitude of waters is under heaven, and he causeth the mists to come up from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings in the rain, and causeth the wind to come out of secret places.

14 All men are fools in their art, and all goldsmiths are ashamed of their images: for their idols are deceitfulness, and have no life.

15 It is vain nothing, and a deceitful work; they must perish when they are afflicted.

16 But he that is Jacob's treasure is not so; but he that made all things, and Israel is his inheritance. His name is called LORD of hosts.

17 Put away thy trade out of the land, thou that dwellest in the strong city.

18 For thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will spoil the inhabitants of the land this day, and will afflict them, that they may feel it.

19 Alas for the sorrow of my heart! But I think, It is my affliction, I must suffer it.

20 My tabernacle is broken down, and all my cords are rent. My children are gone, and are no more. No man rebuildeth my tabernacle, neither pitcheth my tent again.

21 For the shepherds are become fools, and enquire not after the LORD: therefore can they teach nothing that is right, but all the flocks are scattered.

22 Behold, there cometh a shout, and a great shaking out of the land of the north, that the cities of Judah shall be desolate, and shall become the habitation of dragons.

23 I know, O Lord, that a man's doings are not in his power, neither is it in any man's power how he shall walk, or how he shall direct his course.

24 Chasten me, O LORD, but with moderation, and not in thine anger, lest thou destroy me.

25 But pour out thine anger upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the kindreds that call not upon thy name. For they have devoured Jacob, and swallowed him up; they have cleared him up, and laid his habitation waste.