Jeremiah

Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:

1Listen to the message the LORD is speaking to you, people of Israel.

2Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

2This is what the LORD says: Do not learn the ways of the other nations. Do not be terrified by signs in the sky, even though those nations are terrified by them.

3For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

3The customs of those peoples are worthless. Someone cuts down a tree in the forest, and a craftsman carves it with a tool.

4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

4They cover it with silver and gold. They nail it down with a hammer so it will not tip over.

5They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

5These idols stand up straight like a scarecrow in a garden, but they cannot talk. People must carry them, because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them. They cannot hurt you, and they cannot help you either.

NoteThe KJV says the idols are "upright as the palm tree." The Hebrew picture is of a scarecrow standing stiff in a field, which is how the Berean reads it.

6Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.

6There is no one like you, LORD. You are great, and your name is great in power.

7Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

7Who would not respect you, King of all nations? You deserve it. Among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.

8But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.

8But those people are senseless and foolish. They are taught by worthless idols made of wood.

9Silver 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 is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.

9Hammered sheets of silver are brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. A craftsman shapes them, and a goldsmith finishes the work. The idols are dressed in blue and purple cloth, all made by skilled workers.

10But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

10But the LORD is the true God. He is the living God and the King who never ends. The earth shakes when he is angry, and the nations cannot stand up under his anger.

11Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

11This is what you are to tell them: These gods did not make the heavens or the earth. They will disappear from the earth and from under these skies.

12He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.

12The LORD made the earth by his power. He set the world in place by his wisdom, and he spread out the heavens by his understanding.

13When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

13When he thunders, the waters in the sky roar. He makes clouds rise from the far ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain, and he brings the wind out of his storehouses.

14Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

14Every one of those people is senseless and knows nothing. Every goldsmith is shamed by the idol he made, because the metal image is a lie. There is no breath in it.

15They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

15Idols are worthless, something to be laughed at. When the time comes for them to be punished, they will be destroyed.

16The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.

16The God who belongs to Jacob is not like them. He is the Maker of everything, and Israel is the people he claims as his own. His name is the LORD of Hosts, the commander of heaven's armies.

Note"The portion of Jacob" means the share or inheritance that belongs to Jacob's family. Here it is a name for God himself: he is what they have.

17Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.

17Pack up your things and take them out of the land, you who are trapped inside the city walls.

18For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.

18This is what the LORD says: This time I will fling out the people who live in this land. I will bring trouble on them, so that they are captured.

19Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.

19How terrible for me! I am broken, and my wound will not heal. But I said, This really is my sickness, and I have to bear it.

20My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

20My tent is torn down, and all its ropes are snapped. My children have left me and are gone. No one is left to set up my tent or hang my curtains.

21For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

21The shepherds who lead the people have become senseless. They do not look for the LORD. So they have not done well, and their whole flock is scattered.

22Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.

22Listen! News is coming. There is a great rumble from the country to the north. It will turn the cities of Judah into empty ruins where wild dogs live.

NoteThe KJV word "dragons" here means jackals, wild dogs that live in deserted places. "Bruit" is an old word for a report or rumor.

23O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

23LORD, I know that a person's path is not his own to choose. No one who walks can steer his own steps.

24O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

24Correct me, LORD, but be fair about it. Do not do it while you are angry, or you will leave nothing of me.

25Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.

25Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the families that do not call on your name. They have eaten Jacob up. They have swallowed him and finished him off, and left his homeland in ruins.