The Book of Jeremiah

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

Thus says the Lord, "Do not learn the way of the nations, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens Although the nations are terrified by them;

For the customs of the peoples are delusion; Because it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.

"They decorate [it] with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter.

"Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good."

There is none like Thee, O Lord; Thou art great, and great is Thy name in might.

Who would not fear Thee, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Thy due! For among all the wise men of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, There is none like Thee.

But they are altogether stupid and foolish [In their] discipline of delusion - their idol is wood!

Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith; Violet and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of skilled men.

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

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

When He utters His voice, [there is] a tumult of waters in the heavens, 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.

Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them.

They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish.

The portion of Jacob is not like these; For the Maker of all is He, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The Lord of hosts is His name.

Pick up your bundle from the ground, You who dwell under siege!

For thus says the Lord, "Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land At this time, And will cause them distress, That they may be found."

Woe is me, because of my injury! My wound is incurable. But I said, "Truly this is a sickness, And I must bear it."

My tent is destroyed, And all my ropes are broken; 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.

For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the Lord; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.

The sound of a report! Behold, it comes - A great commotion out of the land of the north - To make the cities of Judah A desolation, a haunt of jackals.

I know, O Lord, that a man's way is not in himself; Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.

Correct me, O Lord, but with justice; Not with Thine anger, lest Thou bring me to nothing.

Pour out Thy wrath on the nations that do not know Thee, And on the families that do not call Thy name; For they have devoured Jacob; They have devoured him and consumed him, And have laid waste his habitation.