Jeremiah 10:1-16

Living God or human handiwork

1 Listen to the word that the LORD has spoken to you, people of Israel!
2 The LORD proclaims: Don't follow the ways of the nations or be troubled by signs in the sky, even though the nations are troubled by them.
3 The rituals of the nations are hollow: a tree from the forest is chopped down and shaped by the craftsman's tools.
4 It's overlaid with silver and gold, and fastened securely with hammer and nails so it won't fall over.
5 They are no different than a scarecrow in a cucumber patch: they can't speak; they must be carried because they can't walk. Don't be afraid of them, because they can't do harm or good.
6 LORD, no one is like you! You are great, and great is your mighty name.
7 Who wouldn't fear you, king of the nations? That is your due; among all the wise of the nations and in all their countries, there is no one like you!
8 But they are both foolish and silly; they offer nothing because they are mere wood.
9 Covered with silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, they are the work of a craftsman and the hands of a goldsmith. Clothed in blue and purple, all of them nothing more than the work of artisans.
10 But the LORD is the true God! He's the living God and the everlasting king! When he's angry, the earth quakes; the nations can't endure his rage.
11 Tell them this: The gods who didn't make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.
12 But God made the earth by his might; he shaped the world by his wisdom, crafted the skies by his knowledge.
13 At the sound of his voice, the heavenly waters roar. He raises the clouds from the ends of the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain, the wind from his treasuries.
14 Everyone is too foolish to understand; every goldsmith is dishonored by his idols, for their images are shams; they aren't alive.
15 They are a delusion, a charade; at the appointed time they will vanish!
16 Jacob's portion is utterly different because God has formed all things, including Israel, his very own people— the LORD of heavenly forces is his name!

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. 10:11 is written in Aramaic.
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