Idols and the true God
1Hear the word which Yahweh speaks to you, people of Israel,
2“Do not follow the way of the foreign nations and do not fear signs in the sky as they do. The Awesome God of these nations is but nothing. 3It is only wood cut from a tree in the forest and shaped by a craftsman’s chisel. 4They adorned it with silver and gold – It is fastened down with nails to keep it from falling over. 5Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field; they cannot speak. They have to be carried because they cannot walk. Have no fear of them; they can do neither harm nor good.”
6No one equals you, Yahweh, you are great.
Power is yours, and great is your Name! 7Who would not fear you, King of nations? You are to be feared,
for among the wise of the nations and in all their kingdoms no one equals you.
8They are all brutish and stupid;
their idols are proof of their foolishness.
9silver from Tarshish and gold from Ophir – work of a carver and a goldsmith’s hand, all the work of artists; they are dressed in violet and purple cloth woven by skilled weavers. 10But Yahweh is the true God, the living God and eternal King. His anger makes the earth quake; the nations cannot endure his fury.
11You will say this to them, “The gods who did not make either the heavens or the earth shall disappear from the earth and from under the heavens.”
12By his power he made the earth, by his wisdom he established the world; by his understanding he extended the heavens.
13When he raises his voice
the waters pile up in the heavens.
He calls the clouds from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and from his storehouse sends out the wind. 14At this everyone feels stupid and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is ashamed of his idol which is a fraud without breath. 15They are worthless, ridiculous objects; they shall perish when the time of retribution comes.
16He instead has formed the universe and Israel as well, the tribe of his inheritance, for he is the portion of Jacob:
Yahweh, God of hosts is his name.
17Gather up your belongings and leave the land, you who are the victims of siege,
18for thus says Yahweh,
“I am hurling far away the inhabitants of this land, and I will let them be pursued and captured.”
19Woe is me! What suffering! My wound is incurable!
But I shall say; “Mine is this illness, I must bear it.”
20My tent is destroyed, all its cords are snapped.
My children have left me and are no more;
no one is left to pitch my tent or to set my shelter up.
21For the pastors have become senseless and have not consulted Yahweh; they have not prospered and all their flocks are scattered.
22Heed the news! Pay attention!
A great commotion is heard from the north;
they are coming to make the cities of Judah a desolate land, a den of jackals.
Jeremiah’s prayer
23 ① You know, Yahweh, that man’s life is not within his own control and it is not for him to direct his steps! 24Correct us, Yahweh, with prudence, not in anger, lest you destroy us completely.
25Put out your anger on the nations that do not know you, on the people who do not call on your Name. For they have devoured Jacob and consumed him thoroughly; his homeland is already laid waste.
- Jer 10,23 Correct us, Yahweh, with prudence. Here, suddenly, the heart of Jeremiah manifests itself. He does not forget he is an Israelite and he asks God to restore justice, to punish those powerful nations that come to destroy Judah whenever they like. After repeating many times that those enemy nations were sent by God himself against Judah, he now rebels.
