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Jeremiah 10
New Century Version
Jeremiah 10
New Century Version
The Lord and the Idols
10 Family of Israel, listen to what the Lord says to you. 2 This is what he says:
“Don’t live like the people from other nations,
and don’t be afraid of special signs in the sky,
even though the other nations are afraid of them.
3 The customs of other people are worth nothing.
Their idols are just wood cut from the forest,
shaped by a worker with his chisel.
4 They decorate their idols with silver and gold.
With hammers and nails they fasten them down
so they won’t fall over.
5 Their idols are like scarecrows in melon fields;
they cannot talk.
Since they cannot walk,
they must be carried.
Do not be afraid of those idols,
because they can’t hurt you,
and they can’t help you either.”
6 Lord, there is no one like you.
You are great,
and your name is great and powerful.
7 Everyone should respect you, King of the nations;
you deserve respect.
Of all the wise people among the nations
and in all the kingdoms,
none of them is as wise as you.
8 Those wise people are stupid and foolish.
Their teachings come from worthless wooden idols.
9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish
and gold from Uphaz,
so the idols are made by craftsmen and goldsmiths.
They put blue and purple clothes on the idols.
All these things are made by skilled workers.
10 But the Lord is the only true God.
He is the only living God, the King forever.
The earth shakes when he is angry,
and the nations cannot stand up to his anger.
11 “Tell them this message: ‘These gods did not make heaven and earth; they will be destroyed and disappear from heaven and earth.’”
12 God made the earth by his power.
He used his wisdom to build the world
and his understanding to stretch out the skies.
13 When he thunders, the waters in the skies roar.
He makes clouds rise in the sky all over the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
14 People are so stupid and know so little.
Goldsmiths are made ashamed by their idols,
because those statues are only false gods.
They have no breath in them.
15 They are worth nothing; people make fun of them.
When they are judged, they will be destroyed.
16 But God, who is Jacob’s Portion, is not like the idols.
He made everything,
and he chose Israel to be his special people.
The Lord All-Powerful is his name.
Destruction Is Coming
17 Get everything you own and prepare to leave,
you people who are trapped by your enemies.
18 This is what the Lord says:
“At this time I will throw out the people who live in this land.
I will bring trouble to them
so that they may be captured.”
19 How terrible it will be for me because of my injury.
My wound cannot be healed.
Yet I told myself,
“This is my sickness; I must suffer through it.”
20 My tent is ruined,
and all its ropes are broken.
My children have gone away and left me.
No one is left to put up my tent again
or to set up a shelter for me.
21 The shepherds are stupid
and don’t ask the Lord for advice.
So they do not have success,
and all their flocks are scattered and lost.
22 Listen! The news is coming.
A loud noise comes from the north
to make the towns of Judah an empty desert
and a home for wild dogs!
Jeremiah’s Prayer
23 Lord, I know that our lives don’t really belong to us.
We can’t control our own lives.
24 Lord, correct me, but be fair.
Don’t punish me in your anger,
or you will destroy me.
25 Pour out your anger on other nations
that do not know you
and do not pray to you.
Those nations have destroyed the people of Jacob.
They have eaten them up completely
and destroyed their homeland.
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.
New Century Version (NCV) 
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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.