Jeremiah 10

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

1Listen to the word the LORD speaks 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.

2The LORD says this. Do not learn the ways of the other nations. Do not be scared by signs in the sky. Those nations are scared 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. A worker cuts a tree out of the forest. He shapes the wood with his tools.

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

4They cover the wood with silver and gold. They nail it down with hammers 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.

5The idol stands there stiff, and it cannot talk. People must carry it, because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of it. It cannot hurt you, and it cannot help you either.

NoteThe KJV says the idols are "upright as the palm tree." The picture is not a lovely tree. In the Hebrew it is a scarecrow standing in a garden, stiff and silent.

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. Your name is great and strong.

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 honor you, King of all nations? You deserve it. Among all the wise men and all the 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 foolish and know nothing. They learn from wooden idols, and wooden idols are worthless.

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.

9Thin sheets of silver are brought from Tarshish. Gold is brought from Uphaz. A craftsman and a gold worker shape the idol. Its clothes are blue and purple. Skilled workers made every bit of it.

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 forever. The earth shakes when he is angry. 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.

11Say this to them. These gods did not make the heavens or the earth. So they will vanish from the earth and from under these heavens.

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.

12God made the earth by his power. He set the world in place by his wisdom. He spread out the heavens because he understands everything.

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 far away places. He sends lightning along with the rain. 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 person is foolish and knows so little. Every gold worker is shamed by the idols he makes. His metal statues are a lie. There is no breath in them.

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

15Idols are worthless. They are something to laugh at. When God punishes, the idols 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 that Jacob's family belongs to is not like them. He made everything there is. Israel is the family he chose for his own. His name is the LORD of Hosts, which means the LORD who commands armies.

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 are living in a city that enemies have surrounded.

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 throw out the people of the land, like a stone from a sling. I will bring them trouble, and they will be caught.

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

19How sad I am. I am badly hurt. My wound is deep. But I said, this is my own pain, and I must carry 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. All its ropes are snapped. My children have gone away, and they are not here. No one is left to put my tent up 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 foolish. They did not look for the LORD. So nothing has gone well for them. All their sheep are 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. A great noise comes from the land in the north. The cities of Judah will be left empty. Wild dogs will live there.

NoteThe KJV word "dragons" here does not mean a fire-breathing monster. It means jackals, which are wild dogs that live in empty places.

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 a person does not control his own way. No one who walks can pick 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 when you do it. Do not do it while you are angry. If you do, nothing will be left 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. Pour it out on the families that do not call on your name. They have eaten up Jacob's people. They finished them off. They left their land empty and ruined.