Jeremiah
Chapter 10
1 Listen to the message that God is giving you, people of Israel.
2 God says, “Don’t follow the heathen’s ways, and don’t be scared of the sky signs; the heathen are scared of them.”
3 The ways of the people are worthless: someone cuts down a tree from the woods, made by a worker using an axe.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold; they use nails and hammers to secure it so it doesn’t move.
5 They stand straight like palm trees but cannot speak. They need to be carried since they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they cannot do harm, nor can they do good.
6 No one is like you, God; you are great, and your name is powerful.
7 Who wouldn’t respect you, King of nations? It belongs to you; because among all the wise people of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, no one is like you.
8 But they are all senseless and foolish; their idol is just a teaching about worthless things.
9 Silver made into sheets is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, made by craftsmen and metalworkers. Their clothes are blue and purple, all created by skilled artisans.
10 God is the real God, the living God, and a forever king: when he is angry, the earth will shake, and the countries won’t stand his anger.
11 Tell them, “The gods who did not create the sky and the earth will vanish from the earth and from under the sky.”
12 God made the earth with his power, set up the world with his wisdom, and spread out the skies with his understanding.
13 When he speaks, many waters form in the sky, and he makes vapors rise from the earth’s edges; he creates lightning with rain, and brings wind from his storerooms.
14 Everyone is foolish in what they know; every metal worker is ashamed of their idol, because what they pour as an image is a lie, and there is no life in them.
15 They are worthless and make mistakes; when it’s time for them to be judged, they will be destroyed.
16 Jacob’s share is not like theirs: he is the maker of everything; and Israel is the tribe he inherits: God of all armies is his name.
17 Collect your belongings from the land, person living in the strong place.
18 God says, “I will throw out the people living in the land this time and trouble them so they realize it.”
19 I am in trouble because I am hurt! My injury is serious, but I thought, This is truly sad, and I must endure it.
20 My tent is ruined, all its ropes are snapped; my children have left me, and they are gone. No one is left to put up my tent or hang my curtains.
21 The leaders have become foolish and have not looked for God: so they will not succeed, and all their flocks will be spread out.
22 Look, the sound of the report has arrived, and a big disturbance from the north to leave the towns of Judah empty, and a home for dragons.
23 God, I understand that a person’s path is not decided by themselves: it is not for the one who walks to choose their own way.
24 God, correct me fairly, not in anger, or I will be destroyed.
25 Release your anger on the nations that don’t know you, and on the peoples who don’t pray to you: for they have attacked Jacob, destroyed him, and left his home empty.