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Jeremiah 10
Modern English Version
Jeremiah 10
Modern English Version
The True God and Idols(A)
10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord:
Do not learn the way of the nations;
do not be terrified at the signs of heaven,
although the nations are terrified at them.
3 For the customs of the people are vain;
for with the axe one cuts a tree out of the forest,
the work of the hands of the workman.
4 They deck it with silver and with gold;
they fasten it with nails and with hammers
so that it may not move.
5 They are as a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
but do not speak;
they must be carried,
because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil,
nor can they do good.
6 There is no one like You, O Lord.
You are great,
and Your name is great in might.
7 Who would not fear You,
O King of the nations?
Indeed, it is Your due.
For among all the wise men of the nations,
and in all their kingdoms,
there is no one like You.
8 But they are altogether unthinking and foolish;
the tree 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 are their clothing;
they all are the work of skilled men.
10 But the Lord is the true God;
He is the living God and an everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth trembles,
and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
11 Thus you shall say to 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 has made the earth by His power.
He has established the world by His wisdom
and has stretched out the heavens by His discretion.
13 When He utters His voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens,
and He causes the vapors to ascend from the remote parts of the earth;
He makes lightning with rain,
and brings out the wind from His storehouses.
14 Every man is stupid, without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by an idol;
for his molded image is false,
and there is no breath in them.
15 They are vain and a work of mockery;
in the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16 The portion of Jacob is not like them,
for He is the Maker of all things,
and Israel is the rod of His inheritance.
The Lord of Hosts is His name.
The Exile Prophesied
17 Gather up your wares out of the land,
O inhabitant of the fortress.
18 For thus says the Lord:
I will sling out
the inhabitants of the land at this time,
and will distress them
that they may be found.
19 Woe is me because of my brokenness!
My wound is grievous.
But I said,
“Truly this is an illness, and I must bear it.”
20 My tabernacle is devastated,
and all my cords are broken.
My sons have gone from me and are no more.
There is no one to spread my tent anymore,
and to set up my curtains.
21 For the shepherds have become unthinking
and have not sought the Lord.
Therefore they have not prospered,
and all their flocks are scattered.
22 Listen! The sound of the report has come,
and a great commotion out of the north country,
to make the cities of Judah desolate
and a den of jackals.
The Prayer of Jeremiah
23 O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself;
it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
24 O Lord, correct me, but with justice,
not in Your anger,
lest You bring me to nothing.
25 Pour out Your fury upon the nations
that do not know You
and upon the families that do not call on Your name;
for they have eaten up Jacob
and devoured him, and consumed him,
and have made his habitation desolate.
Jeremiah 10
New International Version
Jeremiah 10
New International Version
God and Idols(A)
10 Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. 2 This 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.
3 For 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)
4 They adorn it with silver(F) and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.(G)
5 Like 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)
6 No one is like you,(L) Lord;
you are great,(M)
and your name is mighty in power.
7 Who 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.
8 They are all senseless(P) and foolish;(Q)
they are taught by worthless wooden idols.(R)
9 Hammered 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.
10 But 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]
12 But 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.
13 When 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)
14 Everyone 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.
15 They are worthless,(AK) the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.
16 He who is the Portion(AL) of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the Maker of all things,(AM)
including Israel, the people of his inheritance(AN)—
the Lord Almighty is his name.(AO)
Coming Destruction
17 Gather up your belongings(AP) to leave the land,
you who live under siege.
18 For this is what the Lord says:
“At this time I will hurl(AQ) out
those who live in this land;
I will bring distress(AR) on them
so that they may be captured.”
19 Woe to me because of my injury!
My wound(AS) is incurable!
Yet I said to myself,
“This is my sickness, and I must endure(AT) it.”
20 My tent(AU) is destroyed;
all its ropes are snapped.
My children are gone from me and are no more;(AV)
no one is left now to pitch my tent
or to set up my shelter.
21 The shepherds(AW) are senseless(AX)
and do not inquire of the Lord;(AY)
so they do not prosper(AZ)
and all their flock is scattered.(BA)
22 Listen! The report is coming—
a great commotion from the land of the north!(BB)
It will make the towns of Judah desolate,(BC)
a haunt of jackals.(BD)
Jeremiah’s Prayer
23 Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own;
it is not for them to direct their steps.(BE)
24 Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure—
not in your anger,(BF)
or you will reduce me to nothing.(BG)
25 Pour out your wrath on the nations(BH)
that do not acknowledge you,
on the peoples who do not call on your name.(BI)
For they have devoured(BJ) Jacob;
they have devoured him completely
and destroyed his homeland.(BK)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 10:11 The text of this verse is in Aramaic.
Jeremiah 10
EasyEnglish Bible
Jeremiah 10
EasyEnglish Bible
10 People of Israel, listen to what the Lord says to you.
2 The Lord says,
‘Do not copy the way that people of other nations live.
They are afraid of strange things that they see in the sky.
But you must not be afraid of those things.[a]
3 The customs of those people are useless.[b]
They cut down a tree in the forest.
A worker uses his tools to make it into an idol.
4 He covers it with silver and gold
to make it look beautiful.
He uses nails to fix it together
so that it will not fall down.
5 Those idols cannot speak.
They are like scarecrows that a farmer puts in his field of vegetables.[c]
The idols cannot walk,
so people have to carry them.
So do not be afraid of them.
They cannot hurt you.
And they do not have any power to help you.’
6 There is nobody like you, Lord.
You are great and your name shows your power.
7 Everyone should respect you,
the King who rules all the nations.
You deserve that people give you honour.
There is nobody like you anywhere in the world.
Among all the wise people of the nations
and among all their kings,
there is no one like you.
8 The people of those nations are stupid and foolish.
They think that wooden idols can teach them something!
9 They bring thin silver from Spain.
They bring gold from Uphaz.
Workers who know how to use wood and metal
make the idols look beautiful.
They put valuable blue and purple clothes on the idols.
Workers who have special skills do this.
10 But the Lord is the only true God.
He is the God who is alive.
He is the King who rules for ever.
When he is angry, the earth shakes.
None of the nations can stop his anger.
11 Tell the nations this:
‘Your gods did not make the earth or the sky.
They will disappear completely from everywhere on earth
and everywhere in the sky.’
12 But the Lord used his power to make the earth.
He used his wisdom to make it strong.
He knew how to put the sky to cover the earth.
13 When he shouts like thunder,
the water in the sky roars.
He causes clouds to rise from the far places of the earth.
He causes bright lightning to show in the storms.
He opens his rooms so that the wind comes out
and it blows everywhere.
14 People who worship idols are stupid.
They do not understand what they are doing.
The men who make idols will be ashamed.
They make images of gods that are false.
None of their idols have the breath of life in them.
15 They are useless things that people should laugh at.
When the time for their punishment arrives,
God will destroy them.
16 The God that Jacob's descendants worship
is not like those idols.
He created everything.
He chose the Israelites as the people who would belong to him.
His name is the Lord Almighty.
God will soon punish the people of Judah
17 Your enemies are all around
and they are ready to attack you.
So get all your things together.
Prepare to leave your country.
18 This is what the Lord says:
‘I will now throw out the people who live in this land.
I will bring much trouble to them,
and they will be in pain.’
19 ‘A terrible thing has happened to us![d]
We have received a very bad wound.
We thought, “We are very ill,
but one day we will get better.”
20 But now they have destroyed our tent.
They have broken the ropes that held it.[e]
Our children have gone,
and none of them remain.
There is nobody still alive
who can help us build our homes again.
21 Our leaders are fools.
They do not ask the Lord for his advice.
So they have failed to take care of us,
and all their people have disappeared.[f]
22 Listen! We have heard the news!
There is the noise of a great army in the north.
It is marching towards us!
It is coming to attack the towns of Judah.
It will make them heaps of stones.
Only wild animals will live in them.
23 Lord, I know that nobody controls their own life.
Nobody can decide what will happen to them.
24 Lord, teach us what is right,
but do it carefully.
Please do not punish us in your anger.
That would be the end of us.
25 Instead, be angry with the nations that do not respect you.
Be angry with the people who do not worship you.
Those are the people who have destroyed Jacob's descendants.[g]
They have killed our people.
They have destroyed our land and our homes.’
Footnotes
- 10:2 Some nations worshipped the sun, the moon and the stars.
- 10:3 ‘Customs’ are things that people do because their ancestors have always done them. They think that those things will help them to live well.
- 10:5 ‘Scarecrows’ are images of people that a farmer uses to keep birds away from his crops.
- 10:19 These are probably the words of Jeremiah. Or they may be the words of Jerusalem's people.
- 10:20 The tent is probably a picture of the nation of Judah.
- 10:21 Judah's leaders are called shepherds. The people that they should take care of are like their sheep.
- 10:25 Jacob's descendants were the Israelites.
Modern English Version (MEV)
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.