JEREMIAH 10 [†]Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2[†]Thus says the LORD:

“Learn not the way of the nations,

nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens

because the nations are dismayed at them,

3[†]  f for the customs of the peoples are vanity. [1]

 g A tree from the forest is cut down

and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.

4  h They decorate it with silver and gold;

 i they fasten it with hammer and nails

so that it cannot move.

5[^] Their idols [2] are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

and  j they cannot speak;

 k they have to be carried,

for they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them,

 l for they cannot do evil,

neither is it in them to do good.”

6  m There is none like you, O LORD;

you are great, and your name is great in might.

7  n Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?

For this is your due;

for among all the wise ones of the nations

and in all their kingdoms

there is none like you.

8[†]  o They are both  p stupid and foolish;

the instruction of idols is but wood!

9  q Beaten silver is brought from  r Tarshish,

and gold from  s Uphaz.

 q They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;

their clothing is violet and purple;

 t they are all the work of skilled men.

10  u But the LORD is the true God;

 v he is the living God and the everlasting King.

At his wrath the earth quakes,

and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

11[†]Thus shall you say to them:  w “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth  x shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” [3]

12  y It is he who  z made the earth by his power,

 z who established the world by his wisdom,

and  a by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

13  b When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,

 c and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.

 c He makes lightning  d for the rain,

 c and he brings forth the wind  e from his storehouses.

14[†]  f Every man is stupid and without knowledge;

 g every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,

for his images are false,

 h and there is no breath in them.

15 They are worthless, a work of delusion;

at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

16 Not like these is he who is  i the portion of Jacob,

for he is the one who formed all things,

 j and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

 k the LORD of hosts is his name.

17[†]  l Gather up your bundle from the ground,

O you who dwell under siege!

18[†] For thus says the LORD:

 m “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land

at this time,

 n and I will bring distress on them,

that they may feel it.”

19[†] Woe is me because of my hurt!

 o My wound is grievous.

But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,

and I must bear it.”

20  p My tent is destroyed,

and all my cords are broken;

my children have gone from me,

 q and they are not;

there is no one to spread my tent again

and  p to set up my curtains.

21[†]  r For the shepherds  s are stupid

and do not inquire of the LORD;

therefore they have not prospered,

 t and all their flock is scattered.

22[†] A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—

 u a great commotion out of the north country

to make  v the cities of Judah a desolation,

 v a lair of jackals.

23[†]  w I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,

that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

24  x Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;

not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.

25  y Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,

and on the peoples that call not on your name,

 z for they have devoured Jacob;

they have devoured him and consumed him,

and have laid waste his habitation.