Jeremiah 10:1-15

New International Version

God and Idols^(A)

10 Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. ²This is what the Lord says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nations^(B)
    or be terrified by signs^(C) in the heavens,
    though the nations are terrified by them.
³For the practices of the peoples are worthless;
    they cut a tree out of the forest,
    and a craftsman^(D) shapes it with his chisel.^(E)
⁴They adorn it with silver^(F) and gold;
    they fasten it with hammer and nails
    so it will not totter.^(G)
⁵Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
    their idols cannot speak;^(H)
they must be carried
    because they cannot walk.^(I)
Do not fear them;
    they can do no harm^(J)
    nor can they do any good.”^(K)

⁶No one is like you,^(L) Lord;
    you are great,^(M)
    and your name is mighty in power.
⁷Who should not fear^(N) you,
    King of the nations?^(O)
    This is your due.
Among all the wise leaders of the nations
    and in all their kingdoms,
    there is no one like you.

⁸They are all senseless^(P) and foolish;^(Q)
    they are taught by worthless wooden idols.^(R)
⁹Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish^(S)
    and gold from Uphaz.
What the craftsman and goldsmith have made^(T)
    is then dressed in blue and purple—
    all made by skilled workers.
¹⁰But the Lord is the true God;
    he is the living God,^(U) the eternal King.^(V)
When he is angry,^(W) the earth trembles;^(X)
    the nations cannot endure his wrath.^(Y)

¹¹“Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish^(Z) from the earth and from under the heavens.’”^[a]

¹²But God made^(AA) the earth^(AB) by his power;
    he founded the world by his wisdom^(AC)
    and stretched out the heavens^(AD) by his understanding.
¹³When he thunders,^(AE) the waters in the heavens roar;
    he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning^(AF) with the rain^(AG)
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.^(AH)

¹⁴Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
    every goldsmith is shamed^(AI) by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;^(AJ)
    they have no breath in them.
¹⁵They are worthless,^(AK) the objects of mockery;
    when their judgment comes, they will perish.