Idols and the Living God

Jeremiah 10

1 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.

  1. Cross References
    Isaiah 44:9
    All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.
  2. Cross References
    Isaiah 40:20
    He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.
    Isaiah 45:20
    Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
  3. Cross References
    Isaiah 40:19
    An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.
  4. Cross References
    Isaiah 41:7
    The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, "It is good"; and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved.
  5. Cross References
    Psalms 115:5
    They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.
    Psalms 135:16
    They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see.
    Habakkuk 2:18 - 19
    What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols!
    1 Corinthians 12:2
    You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
  6. Cross References
    Psalms 115:7
    They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.
    Isaiah 46:7
    They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble.
  7. Cross References
    Isaiah 41:23
    Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified.
  8. Cross References
    Jeremiah 49:19
    Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?
    Exodus 15:11
    Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
    Psalms 86:8
    There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.
    Psalms 86:10
    For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 5:22
    Do you not fear me? declares the Lord. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
    Revelation 15:4
    Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.
  10. Cross References
    Isaiah 41:29
    Behold, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind.
    Habakkuk 2:18
    What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols!
    Zechariah 10:2
    For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
  11. Cross References
    Jeremiah 10:21
    For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord ; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.
  12. Cross References
    Isaiah 40:19
    An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.
  13. Cross References
    Isaiah 40:19
    An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.
  14. Cross References
    Genesis 10:4
    The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
    1 Kings 10:22
    For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
  15. Cross References
    Daniel 10:5
    I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.
  16. Cross References
    Psalms 115:4
    Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
  17. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:4
    The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
    Psalms 31:5
    Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
  18. Cross References
    Psalms 42:2
    My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
  19. Cross References
    Psalms 96:5
    For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
  20. Cross References
    Jeremiah 10:15
    They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
    Isaiah 2:18
    And the idols shall utterly pass away.
    Zechariah 13:2
    And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness.
  21. Cross References
    Jeremiah 10:12 - 16
    It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
    Jeremiah 51:15 - 19
    It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
  22. Cross References
    Genesis 1:1
    In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
    Genesis 1:6
    And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.
    Genesis 1:9
    And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so.
    Psalms 104:5
    He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.
    Proverbs 3:19
    The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens.
  23. Cross References
    Genesis 1:1
    In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
    Genesis 1:6
    And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.
    Genesis 1:9
    And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so.
    Psalms 104:5
    He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.
    Proverbs 3:19
    The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens.
  24. Cross References
    Job 9:8
    Who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea.
  25. Cross References
    Job 38:34
    Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you?
    Psalms 104:6 - 7
    You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.
  26. Cross References
    Psalms 135:7
    He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
  27. Cross References
    Psalms 135:7
    He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
  28. Cross References
    Psalms 135:7
    He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
  29. Cross References
    Jeremiah 14:22
    Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are you not he, O Lord our God? We set our hope on you, for you do all these things.
    Job 5:10
    He gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields.
  30. Cross References
    Job 38:22
    Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail.
  31. Cross References
    Jeremiah 10:8
    They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!
    Proverbs 30:2
    Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man.
    Romans 1:22
    Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
  32. Cross References
    Isaiah 42:17
    They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, "You are our gods.
  33. Cross References
    Psalms 135:17
    They have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths.
    Habakkuk 2:19
    Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it.
  34. Cross References
    Psalms 16:5
    The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
  35. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:9
    But the Lord 's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.
  36. Cross References
    Jeremiah 31:35
    Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar - the Lord of hosts is his name:
    Jeremiah 32:18
    You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts.
    Jeremiah 50:34
    Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name. He will surely plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, but unrest to the inhabitants of Babylon.
  37. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:1
    Flee for safety, O people of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms out of the north, and great destruction.
    Ezekiel 12:3
    As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself an exile's baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house.
  38. Cross References
    1 Samuel 25:29
    If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling.
  39. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:20
    The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me.
  40. Cross References
    Jeremiah 14:17
    You shall say to them this word: 'Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound, with a very grievous blow.
    Jeremiah 30:12
    For thus says the Lord : Your hurt is incurable, and your wound is grievous.
  41. Cross References
    Jeremiah 4:20
    Crash follows hard on crash; the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are laid waste, my curtains in a moment.
    Isaiah 54:2
    Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.
  42. Cross References
    Jeremiah 4:20
    Crash follows hard on crash; the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are laid waste, my curtains in a moment.
    Isaiah 54:2
    Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.
  43. Cross References
    Jeremiah 31:15
    Thus says the Lord : "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.
  44. Cross References
    Jeremiah 23:1
    Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" declares the Lord.
    Ezekiel 34:2
    Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God : Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?
  45. Cross References
    Jeremiah 10:8
    They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!
  46. Cross References
    Ezekiel 34:5 - 6
    So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.
  47. Cross References
    Jeremiah 1:13
    The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.
  48. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:11
    I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair of jackals, and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.
  49. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:11
    I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair of jackals, and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.
  50. Cross References
    Proverbs 16:1
    The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
    Proverbs 20:24
    A man's steps are from the Lord ; how then can man understand his way?
    Daniel 5:23
    But you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.
  51. Cross References
    Jeremiah 30:11
    For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord ; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
    Jeremiah 46:28
    Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
    Psalms 6:1
    O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.
    Psalms 38:1
    O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath!
  52. Cross References
    Psalms 79:6 - 7
    Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!
  53. Cross References
    Jeremiah 8:16
    The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan; at the sound of the neighing of their stallions the whole land quakes. They come and devour the land and all that fills it, the city and those who dwell in it.
    Jeremiah 30:16
    Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all who prey on you I will make a prey.
    Psalms 14:4
    Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord ?
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
Next Book Next Book