Font Size
Jeremiah 10
Good News Translation
Jeremiah 10
Good News Translation
Idolatry and True Worship
10 People of Israel, listen to the message that the Lord has for you. 2 He says,
“Do not follow the ways of other nations;
do not be disturbed by unusual sights in the sky,
even though other nations are terrified.
3 The religion of these people is worthless.
A tree is cut down in the forest;
it is carved by the tools of the woodworker
4 and decorated with silver and gold.
It is fastened down with nails
to keep it from falling over.
5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a field of melons;
they cannot speak;
they have to be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them:
they can cause you no harm,
and they can do you no good.”
6 Lord, there is no one like you;
you are mighty,
and your name is great and powerful.
7 (A)Who would not honor you, the king of all nations?
You deserve to be honored.
There is no one like you
among all the wise men of the nations
or among any of their kings.
8 All of them are stupid and foolish.
What can they learn from wooden idols?[a]
9 Their idols are covered with silver from Spain
and with gold from Uphaz,
all the work of artists;
they are dressed in violet and purple cloth
woven by skilled weavers.
10 But you, Lord, are the true God,
you are the living God
and the eternal king.
When you are angry, the world trembles;
the nations cannot endure your anger.
(11 You people must tell them that the gods who did not make the earth and the sky will be destroyed. They will no longer exist anywhere on earth.)
A Hymn of Praise to God
12 The Lord made the earth by his power;
by his wisdom he created the world
and stretched out the heavens.
13 At his command the waters above the sky[b] roar;
he brings clouds from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning flash in the rain
and sends the wind from his storeroom.
14 At the sight of this, people feel stupid and senseless;
those who make idols are disillusioned,
because the gods they make are false and lifeless.
15 They are worthless and should be despised;
they will be destroyed when the Lord comes to deal with them.
16 The God of Jacob is not like them;
he is the one who made everything,
and he has chosen Israel to be his very own people.
The Lord Almighty is his name.
The Coming Exile
17 People of Jerusalem, you are under siege! Gather up your belongings. 18 The Lord is going to throw you out of this land; he is going to crush you until not one of you is left. The Lord has spoken.
19 The people of Jerusalem cried out,
“How badly we are hurt!
Our wounds will not heal.
And we thought this was something we could endure!
20 Our tents are ruined;
the ropes that held them have broken.
Our children have all gone away;
there is no one left to put up our tents again;
there is no one to hang their curtains.”
21 I answered, “Our leaders are stupid;
they do not ask the Lord for guidance.
This is why they have failed,
and our people have been scattered.
22 Listen! News has come!
There is a great commotion in a nation to the north;
its army will turn the cities of Judah into a desert,
a place where jackals live.”
23 Lord, I know that none of us are in charge of our own destiny;
none of us have control over our own life.
24 Correct your people, Lord,
but do not be too hard on us
or punish us when you are angry;
that would be the end of us.
25 Turn your anger on the nations that do not worship you
and on the people who reject you.
They have killed your people;
they have destroyed us completely
and left our country in ruins.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 10:8 What can … idols?; or What their idols teach is worthless.
- Jeremiah 10:13 See Gn 1.6-8.
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.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
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.