False Gods Contrasted with the Creator
2This is what the Lord says:
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
although the nations are terrified by them,
3for the customs of the peoples are worthless.
Someone cuts down a tree from the forest;
it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.
It is fastened with hammer and nails,10:4 Is 41:7
so it won’t totter.
5Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,
Do not fear them for they can do no harm10:5 Is 41:23–24 —
and they cannot do any good.10:3–5 Is 44:9–20
You are great;
7Who should not fear you,
It is what you deserve.
For among all the wise people of the nations
and among all their kingdoms,
there is no one like you.
8They are both stupid and foolish,
instructed by worthless idols
made of wood!
and gold from Uphaz.10:9 Or Ophir10:9 Dn 10:5
The work of a craftsman
and of a goldsmith’s hands
is clothed in blue and purple,
all the work of skilled artisans.
he is the living God10:10 Dt 5:26; 1Sm 17:26,36; 2Kg 19:4,16 and eternal King.10:10 Ex 15:18; Ps 10:16; 29:10
and the nations cannot endure his fury.
12He made the earth by his power,
established the world10:12 Jb 38:4; Ps 93:1; 96:10 by his wisdom,10:12 Pr 3:19–20; 8:22–29
13When he thunders,10:13 Lit At his giving of the voice
and he causes the clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from his storehouses.10:13 Jb 38:25–30,34–38; Ps 135:7
14Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame
by his carved image,10:14 Is 40:18–31; 46:1–7
for his cast images are a lie;10:14 Is 41:29
there is no breath in them.10:14 Hab 2:19
15They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment
16Jacob’s Portion10:16 = the Lord is not like these
the Lord of Armies is his name.10:12–16 Jr 51:15–19
Exile after the Siege
you who live under siege.
18For this is what the Lord says:
Look, I am flinging away10:18 1Sm 25:29
the land’s residents at this time
and bringing them such distress
that they will feel it.
Jeremiah Grieves
19Woe to me because of my brokenness —
I exclaimed, “This is my intense suffering,
but I must bear it.”
all my tent cords are snapped.
My sons have departed from me and are no more.
I have no one to pitch my tent again
or to hang up my curtains.
21For the shepherds are stupid:
Therefore they have not prospered,
and their whole flock is scattered.
22Listen! A noise — it is coming —
The cities of Judah will be made desolate,
a jackals’ den.10:22 Jr 9:11
23I know, Lord,
that a person’s way of life is not his own;
24Discipline me, Lord, but with justice —
or you will reduce me to nothing.
25Pour out your wrath on the nations
that don’t recognize you
and on the families
that don’t call on your name,
for they have consumed Jacob;
they have consumed him and finished him off
and made his homeland desolate.10:25 Ps 79:6–7
Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard
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