Jeremiah

¹ Hear the word which Yahweh speaks to you, O house of Israel.

² And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens Although the nations are terrified by them;

³ Because it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.

⁴ They strengthen it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter.

⁵ And they cannot speak; They must be carried Because they cannot take a step! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good.”

⁶ You are great, and great is Your name in might.

⁷ Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.

⁸ They are in a discipline of vanities—it is mere wood!

⁹ And gold from Uphaz, The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith; Blue and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of wise craftsmen.

¹⁰ He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation.

¹¹ Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

¹² Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.

¹³ And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses.

¹⁴ Every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven images; For his molten images are a lie, And there is no breath in them.

¹⁵ In the time of their punishment they will perish.

¹⁶ For the Maker of all is He, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; Yahweh of hosts is His name.

¹⁷ You who inhabit a land under siege!

¹⁸ At this time, And will cause them distress, That they may find it.”

¹⁹ My wound is desperately sick. But I said, “Truly this is a sickness, And I must bear it.”

²⁰ And all my ropes are torn out; My sons have gone from me and are no more. There is no one to stretch out my tent again Or to set up my curtains.

²¹ And have not sought Yahweh; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.

²² A great quaking out of the land of the north— To make the cities of Judah A desolation, a haunt of jackals.

²³ Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.

²⁴ Not with Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.

²⁵ And on the families that do not call Your name, For they have devoured Jacob; They have devoured him and consumed him And have made desolate his abode.