God Has No Rivals

¹Israel! Hear the word Yahweh speaks to you.[#10:1 Chapter 10 concludes Jeremiah’s temple message: The Threat of Exile (see 7:1–10:25), reminding Judah that is the true God and that the idols of the nations are nothing. The chapter ends with the prophet Jeremiah praying for his people.]

²Yahweh says:

“Do not adopt the ways of other nations

or be terrified by unusual signs in the heavens

even though the unbelieving nations are in awe of them.

³For the religious practices of the nations are delusions.[#10:3 Or “nothings.”]

They cut down a tree from the forest,

then a craftsman fashions it with his hands.

⁴He adorns his idol with silver and gold

and takes hammer and nails to secure it

so it won’t wobble.

⁵Their idols are like speechless scarecrows standing in a field;

someone must carry them around because they can’t even take a step.

So don’t fear them in any way ,

for they are incapable of doing good or evil.”

King of the Nations

⁶Yahweh , there is no God like you;[#10:6 See Ex. 15:11.]

you are unrivaled in your greatness and might!

The power of your name is so great!

⁷King of the nations,

who would not fear you?

Yes, it is proper to reverence you.

Among all the wise ones of the nations

and among all their royal ones,

there is still no one as magnificent as you.

⁸What wisdom could they glean from a block of wood?

They are foolish blockheads, one and all.

⁹They cover their idols with beaten, refined silver[#10:9 Or “silver from Tarshish.” Tarshish possibly means “refinery,” thus, refined silver. See John A. Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah , The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1980), 329.]

and gold, even fine gold.

The hammer of a craftsman

and the hands of a goldsmith craft their image ,

robing them in garments of violet and purple.

They are nothing but the work of human hands.

¹⁰Only Yahweh is the true and living God,

the King of all ages!

At his fury the earth trembles,

and nations crumble before his wrath.

¹¹“Say to them:[#10:11 This verse is in Aramaic, suggesting it may have been the text from a letter sent by Jeremiah to Jehoiachin and the exiles in Babylon. “The Aramaic language was widely used in diplomacy and commerce during the years of the Assyrian Empire, i.e., 1100–605 BC (Overholt 1965: 5; cf. 2 Kgs 18:26), and even more during the years of the Babylonian Empire” (Jack R. Lundbom, Jeremiah 1–20 , Anchor Yale Bible Commentary, vol. 21A [New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999]).]

“ ‘The gods who did not create the heavens and the earth

will be destroyed from the earth and from under the heavens.’ ”

A Song of Praise

¹²Yahweh made the earth by his glorious power

and firmly established it by his great wisdom.

By his skill he stretched out the sky.

¹³When he speaks, the heavenly ocean roars!

He makes the clouds rise from the distant horizon.

He launches his lightning in the midst of the rain

and unleashes his stormy winds from heaven’s storehouses.

Out of his treasuries of rain, lightning bolts, and stormy winds,

he launches them forth.

¹⁴Everyone is ignorant, knowing nothing.

Every craftsman is shamed by the idols they make

since their idols are nothing but lifeless lies.

¹⁵What they make is worthless—nothing but a joke!

When Yahweh comes to punish them, they will perish.

¹⁶You idols are nothing like Yahweh ,

the true Treasure of Jacob.

For he created the universe

and has chosen Israel to be his inheritance.

Yahweh , Commander of Angel Armies, is his name.

The Coming Exile

¹⁷Jerusalem , you besieged city, pack up your belongings

and get ready to leave the land .

¹⁸For Yahweh says:

“Look! I am throwing you off the land,

and I will bring you distress until you are captured.”

Jeremiah Brokenhearted

¹⁹Woe is me —my brokenness![#10:19 The majority opinion of scholars is that the one crying out is Jeremiah; however, because of a few plural pronouns, some conclude that it is the people of Jerusalem (or Jerusalem personified) who are crying out. See William McKane, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Jeremiah , The International Critical Commentary, vol. 1 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1986), 230–35.]

My wound is incurable.

I once said:

“Oh, I must bear this suffering,”

and I assumed I could endure it.

²⁰But my tent has been torn down,[#10:20 The land was being described by Jeremiah as a land that has already been overthrown. Some scholars view the “tent” as a reference to the temple and its curtains. See F. Kenro Kumaki, “A New Look at Jer. 4:19–22 and 10:19–21,” Annual of the Japanese Biblical Institute 8 (1982): 114.]

and all my cords are severed.

I’ll never see my children again, for they have left me.

There is no one left to stretch out my tent

and no one who can hang my curtains.

²¹For the leaders of the nation are foolish,[#10:21 Or “shepherds.”]

and they refuse Yahweh ’s guidance.

Therefore, without insight , they have not prospered,

and all their flocks are scattered.

²²Look, there is news to report!

There’s a roar and a rumble coming from the north,

coming to make the cities of Judah a rubble

and turn it into a den of jackals.

²³Now, I know, O Yahweh ,

that our destinies are not our own to choose,

and it is not in our power to direct our own steps.

²⁴Correct us, Yahweh , according to what is right,

but go easy on us —

don’t correct us in your anger,

or there would be nothing left of us.

²⁵Vent your anger and pour it out

on all these nations around us.

They’re the ones who do not worship you.

See how they’ve attacked the people of Jacob,

consuming the land and leaving it desolate.