Wycliffe WYC
New International Reader's Version NIRV
1 The house of Israel, hear ye the word which the Lord spake on you. (The house of Israel, hear ye the word which the Lord spoke against you.)
1
People of Israel, listen to what the LORD is telling you.
2 The Lord saith these things, Do not ye learn after the ways of heathen men, and do not ye dread of the signs of heaven, which signs heathen men dread. (The Lord saith these things, Do not ye learn after the ways of the heathen, and do not ye fear the signs of the heavens, which signs the heathen fear.)
2
He says, "Do not follow the practices of other nations. Do not be terrified by warnings in the sky. Do not be afraid, even though the nations are terrified by them.
3 For the laws of peoples be vain (For the religions, or the customs, of the peoples, or of the nations, be empty and futile), for why the work of [the] hands of a craftsman hath cut down with an ax a tree of the forest.
3
The practices of those nations are worthless. People cut a tree out of the forest. A skilled worker shapes the wood with a sharp tool.
4 He made it fair with silver and gold; (and) with nails and hammers he joined it together, that it be not loosed [atwain].
4
Others decorate it with silver and gold. They use a hammer to nail it to the floor. They want to keep it from falling down.
5 Idols be made in the likeness of a palm tree, and shall not speak; those shall be taken and be borne (about), for those may not go; therefore do not ye dread those, for they may neither do evil, neither well. (These idols be made straight and tall like a palm tree, but they cannot speak; they must be picked up and carried about, for they cannot walk; and so do not ye fear them, for they can do neither good nor evil to you/for you.)
5
The statues of their gods can't speak. They are like scarecrows in a field of melons. They have to be carried around because they can't walk. So do not worship them. They can't do you any harm. And they can't do you any good either."
6 Lord, none is like thee (Lord, there is no one like thee); thou art great, and thy name is great in strength.
6
Lord, no one is like you. You are great. You are mighty and powerful.
7 A! thou king of folks, who shall not dread thee? for why honour is thine among all wise men of heathen men, and in all the realms of them none is like thee. (O! thou King of nations, who shall not fear thee? for honour is thine among all the wise of the heathen, and in all their kingdoms there is no one like thee.)
7
King of the nations, everyone should have respect for you. That's what people should give you. Among all of the wise people in the nations there is no one like you. No one can compare with you in all of their kingdoms.
8 They shall be proved unwise and fools together; the teaching of their vanity is a tree. (They shall be proved altogether unwise and foolish; their empty and futile teaching is from a piece of wood.)
8
All of them are foolish. They don't have any sense. They think they are taught by worthless wooden gods.
9 Silver wrapped is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz (Silver beaten into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Ophir); it is the work of a craftsman, and of the hand(s) of a worker in metal; jacinth and purple be the clothing of them; all these things be the work of workmen.
9
Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish. Gold is brought from Uphaz. People who are skilled in working with wood and gold make a statue. Then they put blue and purple clothes on it. The whole thing is made by skilled workers.
10 Forsooth the Lord is very God; he is God living, and a king everlasting; the earth shall be moved together of his indignation, and heathen men shall not (be able to) suffer the menacing of him. (For the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, and the everlasting King; the earth shall be altogether shaken by his indignation, and the heathen shall not be able to suffer his threats.)
10
But you are the only true God. You are the only living God. You are the King who rules forever. When you are angry, the earth trembles with fear. The nations can't stand up under your anger.
11 Therefore thus ye shall say to them, Gods that made not heaven and earth, perish from the earth, and from these things that be under heaven. (And so ye shall say this to them, The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth, shall perish from the earth, and from these things that be under the heavens.)
11
The LORD says to the Jews who are living in Babylonia, "Tell the people of the nations, 'Your gods did not make the heavens and the earth. In fact, those gods will disappear from the earth. They will vanish from under the heavens.' "
12 He is God, that maketh the earth in his strength, that maketh ready the world in his wisdom, and stretcheth forth (the) heavens by his prudence. (He is God, who maketh the earth by his strength, who prepareth the world by his wisdom, and who stretcheth forth the heavens by his prudence, or by his knowledge.)
12
But God used his power to make the earth. His wisdom set the world in place. His understanding spread the heavens out.
13 At his voice he giveth the multitude of waters in (the) heaven(s), and he raiseth [up] mists from the ends of (the) earth; he maketh lightnings into rain, and leadeth out wind of his treasures/of his treasuries (and leadeth forth the wind from his storehouses).
13
When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar. He makes clouds rise from one end of the earth to the other. He sends lightning along with the rain. He brings the wind out from his storerooms.
14 Each man is made a fool of [his] knowing, each craftsman is shamed in a graven image; for why that that he welled together is false, and no spirit is in them. (Each person is made a fool by his knowledge, each craftsman is shamed by a carved, or a cast, idol; for what he welded together is false, and no breath, or life, is in them.)
14
No one has any sense. No one knows anything at all. Everyone who works with gold is put to shame by his wooden gods. The metal gods he worships are fakes. They can't even breathe.
15 Those be vain (They be empty and futile), and a work worthy of scorn; those shall perish in the time of their visitation.
15
They are worthless. People make fun of them. When the LORD judges them, they will be destroyed.
16 The part of Jacob is not like these, for he that formed all things is God of Jacob, and Israel is the rod of his heritage; the Lord of hosts is name to him. (The portion of Jacob is not like these, for he who formed all things is the God of Jacob, and Israel is the rod of his inheritance; the Lord of hosts is his name.)
16
The God of Jacob is not like them. He gives his people everything they need. He made everything that exists. And that includes Israel. It's the nation that belongs to him. His name is The LORD Who Rules Over All.
17 Thou that dwellest in besieging, gather from the land thy shame; (Thou who livest under siege, gather up thy goods from the land;)
17
People of Jerusalem, your enemies have surrounded you. They are attacking you. So gather up what belongs to you. Then leave the land.
18 for the Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall cast away far the dwellers of the land in this while; and I shall give tribulation to them, so that they be not found. (for the Lord saith these things, Lo! I shall cast far away the inhabitants of the land at this time; and I shall give them so much trouble, that they shall never be found again.)
18
The LORD says, "I am about to throw out of this land everyone who lives in it. I will bring trouble on them. They will be captured."
19 Woe to me on my sorrow, my wound is full evil; forsooth I said, Plainly this is my sickness, and I shall bear it. (Woe to me for my sorrow, my wound is very bad; but I said, Truly this is my plight, and I shall bear it.)
19
How terrible it will be for me! I've been wounded! And my wound can't be healed! In spite of that, I said to myself, "I'm sick. But I'll have to put up with it."
20 My tabernacle is destroyed, all my ropes be broken; my sons went out from me, and be not; none is that shall stretch forth more my tent, and shall raise [up] my skins. (My tent is destroyed, all my ropes be broken; my sons and daughters went out from me, and now be not; there is no longer anyone who shall stretch forth my tent, and shall raise up my curtains.)
20
Jerusalem is like a tent that has been destroyed. All of its ropes have snapped. My people have gone away from me. Now no one is left to set up my tent. I have no one to set it up for me.
21 For the shepherds did follily, and sought not the Lord (For the shepherds of the people did foolishly, and did not seek the Lord); therefore they understood not, and all the flock of them is scattered.
21
The leaders of my people are like shepherds who don't have any sense. They don't ask the LORD for advice. That's why they don't succeed. And that's why their whole flock is scattered like sheep.
22 Lo! the voice of hearing cometh, and a great moving together from the land of the north, that it set the cities of Judah into wilderness, and a dwelling place of dragons. (Lo! tidings come, and then a great tumult from the land of the north, that shall turn the cities of Judah into a wilderness, and into a dwelling place for dragons, or for jackals.)
22
Listen! A message is coming! I hear the sound of a great army marching down from the north! It will turn Judah's towns into a desert. They will become a home for wild dogs.
23 Lord, I know, that the way of a man is not of him(self), neither it is of a man that he go, and (ad)dress his steps. (Lord, I know, that the way of a person is not their own choosing, nor is it for anyone that they can go, and direct their own steps.)
23
Lord, I know that a man doesn't control his own life. He doesn't direct his own steps.
24 Lord, chastise thou me; nevertheless in doom, and not in thy strong vengeance, lest peradventure thou drive me to nought. (Lord, discipline, or correct, thou me; nevertheless with justice/in judgement, and not with thy strong vengeance, lest perhaps thou drive me down to nothing.)
24
Correct me, Lord. But please be fair. Don't correct me when you are angry. If you do, nothing will be left of me.
25 Pour out thine indignation on heathen men that knew not thee, and on provinces that called not thy name to help; for they ate Jacob, and devoured him, and wasted him, and destroyed the honour of him. (Pour out thy indignation upon the heathen who do not know thee, and upon the provinces that did not call on thy name for help; for they ate up Jacob, and devoured him, and wasted him, and destroyed his honour.)
25
Pour out your burning anger on the nations. They don't pay any attention to you. They refuse to worship you. They have destroyed the people of Jacob. They've wiped them out completely. They've also destroyed the land they lived in.
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica.  All rights reserved worldwide.