| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Hear the word that the LORD has spoken to you, house of Israel. | 1Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O Israel! |
| 2This is what the LORD says: Do not learn the way of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, although the nations are terrified by them, | 2This is what the LORD says: “Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other 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. | 3Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. |
| 4He decorates it with silver and gold. It is fastened with hammer and nails, so it won't totter. | 4They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. |
| 5Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them for they can do no harm-- and they cannot do any good. | 5Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.” |
| 6Yahweh, there is no one like You. You are great; Your name is great in power. | 6LORD, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power. |
| 7Who should not fear You, King of the nations? 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. | 7Who would not fear you, O King of nations? That title belongs to you alone! Among all the wise people of the earth and in all the kingdoms of the world, there is no one like you. |
| 8They are both stupid and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood! | 8People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood! |
| 9Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz from the hands of a goldsmith, the work of a craftsman. Their clothing is blue and purple, all the work of skilled artisans. | 9They bring beaten sheets of silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, and they give these materials to skillful craftsmen who make their idols. Then they dress these gods in royal blue and purple robes made by expert tailors. |
| 10But Yahweh is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His rage. | 10But the LORD is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at his anger. The nations cannot stand up to his wrath. |
| 11You are to say this to them, "The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under these heavens." | 11Say this to those who worship other gods: “Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth and from under the heavens.” |
| 12He made the earth by His power, established the world by His wisdom, and spread out the heavens by His understanding. | 12But the LORD made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens. |
| 13When He thunders, the waters in the heavens are in turmoil, 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. | 13When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses. |
| 14Everyone is stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image, for his cast images are a lie; there is no breath in them. | 14The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge! The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make, for their carefully shaped works are a fraud. These idols have no breath or power. |
| 15They are worthless, a work to be mocked. At the time of their punishment they will be destroyed. | 15Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed. |
| 16Jacob's Portion is not like these because He is the One who formed all things. Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; Yahweh of Hosts is His name. | 16But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists, including Israel, his own special possession. The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is his name! The Coming Destruction |
| 17Gather up your belongings from the ground, you who live under siege. | 17Pack your bags and prepare to leave; the siege is about to begin. |
| 18For this is what the LORD says: Look, I am slinging out the land's residents at this time and bringing them such distress that they will feel it. | 18For this is what the LORD says: “Suddenly, I will fling out all you who live in this land. I will pour great troubles upon you, and at last you will feel my anger.” |
| 19Woe to me because of my brokenness-- I am severely wounded! I exclaimed, "This is my intense suffering, but I must bear it." | 19My wound is severe, and my grief is great. My sickness is incurable, but I must bear it. |
| 20My tent is destroyed; 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. | 20My home is gone, and no one is left to help me rebuild it. My children have been taken away, and I will never see them again. |
| 21For the shepherds are stupid: they don't seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and their whole flock is scattered. | 21The shepherds of my people have lost their senses. They no longer seek wisdom from the LORD. Therefore, they fail completely, and their flocks are scattered. |
| 22Listen! A noise--it is coming-- a great commotion from the land to the north. The cities of Judah will be made desolate, a jackals' den. | 22Listen! Hear the terrifying roar of great armies as they roll down from the north. The towns of Judah will be destroyed and become a haunt for jackals. Jeremiah’s Prayer |
| 23I know, LORD, that a man's way of life is not his own; no one who walks determines his own steps. | 23I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. |
| 24Discipline me, LORD, but with justice-- not in Your anger, or You will reduce me to nothing. | 24So correct me, LORD, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die. |
| 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. | 25Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you— on the peoples that do not call upon your name. For they have devoured your people Israel ; they have devoured and consumed them, making the land a desolate wilderness. |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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