Shared Word Translation
Jeremiah 10
Hear the word that the LORD has spoken concerning you, house of Israel.
Thus says the LORD:
Do not learn the way of the nations,
and do not be dismayed by the signs of the heavens,
though the nations are dismayed by them.
For the customs of the peoples are emptiness:
a tree is cut from the forest,
the work of a craftsperson’s hands with an axe.
They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with nails and hammers
so that it will not topple.
Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, they cannot speak;
they must be carried, for they cannot walk.
Do not fear them,
for they cannot do harm,
nor is it in them to do good.
There is none like you, LORD;
you are great,
and your name is great in might.
Who would not fear you,
King of the nations?
For this is your due.
For among all the wise of the nations
and in all their kingdoms,
there is none like you.
Together they are dull and foolish;
the instruction of idols is wood.
Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz—
the work of a craftsperson and of a goldsmith’s hands.
Blue and purple are their clothing;
all of them are the work of skilled artisans.
But the LORD is the true God;
he is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
Thus you shall say to them:
“The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth
shall perish from the earth
and from beneath these heavens.”
He made the earth by his power,
established the world by his wisdom,
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
When he gives his voice,
there is a roar of waters in the heavens;
he causes clouds to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
Every person is dull, without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by an idol.
For the image he has cast is a lie,
and there is no breath in them.
They are emptiness, a work of mockery;
at the time of their punishment, they will perish.
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.
Gather up your bundle from the land,
you who live under siege.
For thus says the LORD:
Look, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
at this time,
and I will bring distress upon them,
so that they may find it.
Woe is me because of my brokenness!
My wound is grievous.
But I said,
“Surely this is my sickness,
and I must bear it.”
My tent has been ravaged,
and all my cords have been torn away.
My children have gone from me, and they are no more;
there is no one left to spread my tent again
or to set up my tent curtains.
For the shepherds have become dull
and have not sought the LORD;
therefore they have not acted wisely,
and all their flock has been scattered.
The sound of a report—look, it is coming!
A great shaking from the land of the north,
to make the cities of Judah a desolation,
a dwelling place of jackals.
I know, LORD, that a person’s way is not their own;
it is not for one who walks
to direct their steps.
Correct me, LORD, but with justice;
not in your anger,
lest you make me few.
Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not know you,
and on the families that do not call on your name.
For they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him and brought him to an end,
and they have made his dwelling place desolate.