Jeremiah

JEREMIAH 10:3
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“ Don’t live like people from other nations.
Don’t be afraid of special signs in the
sky. a
The other nations are afraid of what they
see in the sky.
But you must not be afraid of them.
3 The customs of other people are worth
nothing.
Their idols* are nothing but wood from
the forest.
Their idols are made by workers with
their chisels. b
4 They make their idols beautiful with
silver and gold.
They use hammers and nails to fasten
their idols down
so that they will not fall over.
5 The idols of the other nations are like
a scarecrow in a cucumber field.
They cannot walk.
They cannot talk, and the people must
carry them.
So don’t be afraid of their idols.
They cannot hurt you.
And they cannot help you either.”
6 Lord, there is no one like you.
You are great!
Your name is great and powerful!
7 Everyone should respect you, King of all
the nations.
You deserve their respect.
There are many wise men among the
nations,
but not one of them is as wise as you.
8 All the people of the other nations are
stupid and foolish.
Their teachings come from worthless
wooden statues.
9 They use silver from the city of Tarshish
and gold from the city of Uphaz and
make their statues.
Carpenters and metalworkers make the
idols.
They put blue and purple clothes on
them.
“ Wise men” make these “gods.”
10 But the Lord is the only true God.
He is the only God who is alive.
He is the King who rules forever.
The earth shakes when he is angry.
The people of the nations cannot stop
his anger.
11 The Lord says, “Tell them this message:
‘ These false gods did not make heaven
and earth.
a 10:2 special signs in the sky People believed that
such things as comets, meteors, or eclipses of the
sun and moon could be used to learn what was
going to happen in the future.
b 10:3 chisels Sharp tools used to carve wood or
stone.
They will be destroyed and disappear
from heaven and earth.’” c
12 God is the one who used his power and
made the earth.
He used his wisdom and built the
world.
With his understanding
he stretched the sky over the earth.
13 God causes the loud thunder,
and he causes great floods of water to
fall from the sky.
He makes clouds rise in the sky every
place on earth.
He sends lightning with the rain.
He brings out the wind from his
storehouses.
14 People are so stupid!
Metalworkers are fooled by the idols
that they themselves made.
These statues are nothing but lies.
They are stupid. d
15 These idols are worth nothing.
They are something to make fun of.
In the time of judgment
they will be destroyed.
16 But Jacob’s God e is not like the idols.
He made everything,
and Israel is the family that God chose
to be his own people.
His name is Lord All-Powerful.
Destruction Is Coming
17 Get everything you own and prepare to
leave.
People of Judah,* you are trapped in the
city,
and the enemy is all around it.
18 This is what the Lord says:
“ This time, I will throw the people of
Judah out of this country.
I will bring pain and trouble to them.
I will do this so that they will learn their
lesson.” f
19 I am hurt badly.
I am injured and I cannot be healed.
But I told myself, “This is my sickness;
I must suffer through it.”
20 My tent is ruined.
All its ropes are broken.
c 10:11 Tell this message … earth This part was writ‑
ten in Aramaic, not Hebrew. This was the language
people used often when writing to people in
other countries. It was also the language spoken in
Babylon.
d 10:14 They are stupid Literally, “They have no
spirit.” This might also mean “They are not alive.”
e 10:16 Jacob’s God Literally, “Jacob’s share.” This
means that God and Jacob (the people of Israel) had
a special relationship—God belonged to Israel, and
Israel belonged to God.”
f 10:18 they will learn their lesson The Hebrew text
here is hard to understand.