10 People of Israel, listen to what the Lord says to you.
2 The Lord says,
‘Do not copy the way that people of other nations live.
They are afraid of strange things that they see in the sky.
But you must not be afraid of those things. [ a ]
3 The customs of those people are useless. [ b ]
They cut down a tree in the forest.
A worker uses his tools to make it into an idol.
4 He covers it with silver and gold
to make it look beautiful.
He uses nails to fix it together
so that it will not fall down.
5 Those idols cannot speak.
They are like scarecrows that a farmer puts in his field of vegetables. [ c ]
The idols cannot walk,
so people have to carry them.
So do not be afraid of them.
They cannot hurt you.
And they do not have any power to help you.’
6 There is nobody like you, Lord .
You are great and your name shows your power.
7 Everyone should respect you,
the King who rules all the nations.
You deserve that people give you honour.
There is nobody like you anywhere in the world.
Among all the wise people of the nations
and among all their kings,
there is no one like you.
8 The people of those nations are stupid and foolish.
They think that wooden idols can teach them something!
9 They bring thin silver from Spain.
They bring gold from Uphaz.
Workers who know how to use wood and metal
make the idols look beautiful.
They put valuable blue and purple clothes on the idols.
Workers who have special skills do this.
10 But the Lord is the only true God.
He is the God who is alive.
He is the King who rules for ever.
When he is angry, the earth shakes.
None of the nations can stop his anger.
11 Tell the nations this:
‘Your gods did not make the earth or the sky.
They will disappear completely from everywhere on earth
and everywhere in the sky.’
12 But the Lord used his power to make the earth.
He used his wisdom to make it strong.
He knew how to put the sky to cover the earth.
13 When he shouts like thunder,
the water in the sky roars.
He causes clouds to rise from the far places of the earth.
He causes bright lightning to show in the storms.
He opens his rooms so that the wind comes out
and it blows everywhere.
14 People who worship idols are stupid.
They do not understand what they are doing.
The men who make idols will be ashamed.
They make images of gods that are false.
None of their idols have the breath of life in them.
15 They are useless things that people should laugh at.
When the time for their punishment arrives,
God will destroy them.
16 The God that Jacob's descendants worship
is not like those idols.
He created everything.
He chose the Israelites as the people who would belong to him.
His name is the Lord Almighty.
17 Your enemies are all around
and they are ready to attack you.
So get all your things together.
Prepare to leave your country.
18 This is what the Lord says:
‘I will now throw out the people who live in this land.
I will bring much trouble to them,
and they will be in pain.’
19 ‘A terrible thing has happened to us! [ d ]
We have received a very bad wound.
We thought, “We are very ill,
but one day we will get better.”
20 But now they have destroyed our tent.
They have broken the ropes that held it. [ e ]
Our children have gone,
and none of them remain.
There is nobody still alive
who can help us build our homes again.
21 Our leaders are fools.
They do not ask the Lord for his advice.
So they have failed to take care of us,
and all their people have disappeared. [ f ]
22 Listen! We have heard the news!
There is the noise of a great army in the north.
It is marching towards us!
It is coming to attack the towns of Judah.
It will make them heaps of stones.
Only wild animals will live in them.
23 Lord , I know that nobody controls their own life.
Nobody can decide what will happen to them.
24 Lord , teach us what is right,
but do it carefully.
Please do not punish us in your anger.
That would be the end of us.
25 Instead, be angry with the nations that do not respect you.
Be angry with the people who do not worship you.
Those are the people who have destroyed Jacob's descendants. [ g ]
They have killed our people.
They have destroyed our land and our homes.’
10 Family of Israel, listen to the Lord ! 2 This is what the Lord says:
“Don’t live like people from other nations.
Don’t be afraid of special signs in the sky. [ a ]
The other nations are afraid of what they see in the sky.
But you must not be afraid of them.
3 The customs of other people are worth nothing.
Their idols are nothing but wood from the forest.
Their idols are made by workers with their chisels. [ b ]
4 They make their idols beautiful with silver and gold.
They use hammers and nails to fasten their idols down
so that they will not fall over.
5 The idols of the other nations are like
a scarecrow in a cucumber field.
They cannot walk.
They cannot talk, and the people must carry them.
So don’t be afraid of their idols.
They cannot hurt you.
And they cannot help you either.”
6 Lord , there is no one like you.
You are great!
Your name is great and powerful!
7 Everyone should respect you, King of all the nations.
You deserve their respect.
There are many wise men among the nations,
but not one of them is as wise as you.
8 All the people of the other nations are stupid and foolish.
Their teachings come from worthless wooden statues.
9 They use silver from the city of Tarshish
and gold from the city of Uphaz and make their statues.
Carpenters and metalworkers make the idols.
They put blue and purple clothes on them.
“Wise men” make these “gods.”
10 But the Lord is the only true God.
He is the only God who is alive.
He is the King who rules forever.
The earth shakes when he is angry.
The people of the nations cannot stop his anger.
11 The Lord says, “Tell them this message:
‘These false gods did not make heaven and earth.
They will be destroyed and disappear from heaven and earth.’” [ c ]
12 God is the one who used his power and made the earth.
He used his wisdom and built the world.
With his understanding he stretched the sky over the earth.
13 God causes the loud thunder,
and he causes great floods of water to fall from the sky.
He makes clouds rise in the sky every place on earth.
He sends lightning with the rain.
He brings out the wind from his storehouses.
14 People are so stupid!
Metalworkers are fooled by the idols that they themselves made.
These statues are nothing but lies.
They are stupid. [ d ]
15 These idols are worth nothing.
They are something to make fun of.
In the time of judgment they will be destroyed.
16 But Jacob’s God [ e ] is not like the idols.
He made everything,
and Israel is the family that God chose to be his own people.
His name is Lord All-Powerful.
17 Get everything you own and prepare to leave.
People of Judah, you are trapped in the city,
and the enemy is all around it.
18 This is what the Lord says:
“This time, I will throw the people of Judah out of this country.
I will bring pain and trouble to them.
I will do this so that they will learn their lesson.” [ f ]
19 I am hurt badly.
I am injured and I cannot be healed.
But I told myself, “This is my sickness;
I must suffer through it.”
20 My tent is ruined.
All its ropes are broken.
My children left me.
They are gone.
No one is left to put up my tent.
No one is left to fix a shelter for me.
21 The shepherds are stupid.
They don’t try to find the Lord .
They are not wise,
so their flocks are scattered and lost.
22 Listen! A loud noise!
The noise is coming from the north. [ g ]
It will destroy the cities of Judah.
Judah will become an empty desert.
It will be a home for jackals.
23 Lord , I know that our lives do not belong to us.
We have no control over what happens.
24 So correct us, Lord !
But please be fair.
Don’t punish us in anger,
or you will destroy us!
25 If you are angry, then punish the other nations.
They don’t know or respect you.
They don’t worship you.
Those nations destroyed Jacob’s family.
They destroyed Israel completely.
They destroyed Israel’s homeland.
10 Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2 Thus 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.
3 For 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.
4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
5 They 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.
6 Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord ; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
7 Who 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.
8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.
9 Silver 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.
10 But 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.
11 Thus 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.
12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
13 When 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.
14 Every 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.
15 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
16 The 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.
17 Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
18 For 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.
19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous; but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
20 My 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.
21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord : therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
22 Behold, 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.
23 O Lord , I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
24 O Lord , correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
25 Pour 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.
10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, house of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says:
“ ( A ) Do not learn the way of the nations,
And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens,
Although the nations are terrified by them;
3 For the customs of the peoples are ( B ) futile;
For ( C ) it is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
4 They ( D ) decorate the idol with silver and gold;
They ( E ) fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not totter.
5 They are like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
And they ( F ) cannot speak;
They must be ( G ) carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not fear them,
For they ( H ) can do no harm,
Nor can they do any good.”
6 ( I ) There is none like You, Lord ;
You are ( J ) great, and Your name is great in might.
7 ( K ) Who would not fear You, O ( L ) King of the nations?
For it is Your due!
For among all the ( M ) wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
8 But they are altogether ( N ) stupid and foolish;
The instruction from idols is nothing but wood!
9 Beaten ( O ) silver is brought from ( P ) Tarshish,
And ( Q ) gold from Uphaz,
The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;
Their clothing is of violet and purple;
They are all the ( R ) work of skilled people.
10 But the Lord is the ( S ) true God;
He is the ( T ) living God and the ( U ) everlasting King.
The ( V ) earth quakes at His wrath,
And the nations cannot ( W ) endure His indignation.
11 [ a ] This is what you shall say to them: “The ( X ) gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will ( Y ) perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”
12 It is ( Z ) He who made the earth by His power,
Who ( AA ) established the world by His wisdom;
And by His understanding He has ( AB ) stretched out the heavens.
13 When He utters His ( AC ) voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens,
And He makes the ( AD ) clouds ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain,
And brings out the ( AE ) wind from His storehouses.
14 Every person is ( AF ) stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
For his cast metal images are deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
15 They are ( AG ) worthless, a work of mockery;
At the ( AH ) time of their punishment they will perish.
16 The ( AI ) Portion of Jacob is not like these;
For He is the [ b ] ( AJ ) Maker of everything,
And ( AK ) Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
The ( AL ) Lord of armies is His name.
17 ( AM ) Pick up your bundle from the ground,
You who live under siege!
18 For this is what the Lord says:
“Behold, I am ( AN ) slinging out the inhabitants of the land
At this time,
And I will cause them distress,
So that they may [ c ] be found.”
19 ( AO ) Woe to me, because of my [ d ] injury!
My ( AP ) wound is incurable.
But I said, “This certainly is a sickness,
And I ( AQ ) must endure it.”
20 My ( AR ) tent is destroyed,
And all my ropes are broken.
My ( AS ) sons have gone from me and are no more.
There is ( AT ) no one to stretch out my tent again
Or to set up my curtains.
21 For the shepherds have become stupid
And ( AU ) have not sought the Lord .
Therefore they have not prospered,
And ( AV ) all their flock is scattered.
22 The sound of a ( AW ) report! Behold, it is coming—
A great roar ( AX ) from the land of the north—
To ( AY ) make the cities of Judah
A desolation, a haunt of jackals.
23 I know, Lord , that ( AZ ) a person’s way is not in himself,
( BA ) Nor is it in a person who walks to direct his steps.
24 ( BB ) Correct me, Lord , but with justice;
Not with Your anger, or You will [ e ] bring me to nothing.
25 ( BC ) Pour out Your wrath on the nations that ( BD ) do not know You,
And on the families who ( BE ) do not call upon Your name;
For they have devoured Jacob;
They have ( BF ) devoured him and consumed him,
And have laid waste his [ f ] settlement.
10 Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says:
“Do not learn the ways of the nations ( B )
or be terrified by signs ( C ) in the heavens,
though the nations are terrified by them.
3 For the practices of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman ( D ) shapes it with his chisel. ( E )
4 They adorn it with silver ( F ) and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter. ( G )
5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
their idols cannot speak; ( H )
they must be carried
because they cannot walk. ( I )
Do not fear them;
they can do no harm ( J )
nor can they do any good.” ( K )
6 No one is like you, ( L ) Lord ;
you are great, ( M )
and your name is mighty in power.
7 Who should not fear ( N ) you,
King of the nations? ( O )
This is your due.
Among all the wise leaders of the nations
and in all their kingdoms,
there is no one like you.
8 They are all senseless ( P ) and foolish; ( Q )
they are taught by worthless wooden idols. ( R )
9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish ( S )
and gold from Uphaz.
What the craftsman and goldsmith have made ( T )
is then dressed in blue and purple—
all made by skilled workers.
10 But the Lord is the true God;
he is the living God, ( U ) the eternal King. ( V )
When he is angry, ( W ) the earth trembles; ( X )
the nations cannot endure his wrath. ( Y )
11 “Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish ( Z ) from the earth and from under the heavens.’” [ a ]
12 But God made ( AA ) the earth ( AB ) by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom ( AC )
and stretched out the heavens ( AD ) by his understanding.
13 When he thunders, ( AE ) the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning ( AF ) with the rain ( AG )
and brings out the wind from his storehouses. ( AH )
14 Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is shamed ( AI ) by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud; ( AJ )
they have no breath in them.
15 They are worthless, ( AK ) the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.
16 He who is the Portion ( AL ) of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the Maker of all things, ( AM )
including Israel, the people of his inheritance ( AN ) —
the Lord Almighty is his name. ( AO )
17 Gather up your belongings ( AP ) to leave the land,
you who live under siege.
18 For this is what the Lord says:
“At this time I will hurl ( AQ ) out
those who live in this land;
I will bring distress ( AR ) on them
so that they may be captured.”
19 Woe to me because of my injury!
My wound ( AS ) is incurable!
Yet I said to myself,
“This is my sickness, and I must endure ( AT ) it.”
20 My tent ( AU ) is destroyed;
all its ropes are snapped.
My children are gone from me and are no more; ( AV )
no one is left now to pitch my tent
or to set up my shelter.
21 The shepherds ( AW ) are senseless ( AX )
and do not inquire of the Lord ; ( AY )
so they do not prosper ( AZ )
and all their flock is scattered. ( BA )
22 Listen! The report is coming—
a great commotion from the land of the north! ( BB )
It will make the towns of Judah desolate, ( BC )
a haunt of jackals. ( BD )
23 Lord , I know that people’s lives are not their own;
it is not for them to direct their steps. ( BE )
24 Discipline me, Lord , but only in due measure—
not in your anger, ( BF )
or you will reduce me to nothing. ( BG )
25 Pour out your wrath on the nations ( BH )
that do not acknowledge you,
on the peoples who do not call on your name. ( BI )
For they have devoured ( BJ ) Jacob;
they have devoured him completely
and destroyed his homeland. ( BK )
