Jeremiah 10:1-16

1People of Israel, listen to what the Lord says to you.

2The Lord says, ‘Do not copy the way that people of other nations live. They are afraid of strange things that they see in the sky. But you must not be afraid of those things.

3The customs of those people are useless. They cut down a tree in the forest. A worker uses his tools to make it into an idol.

4He covers it with silver and gold to make it look beautiful. He uses nails to fix it together so that it will not fall down.

5Those idols cannot speak. They are like scarecrows that a farmer puts in his field of vegetables. The idols cannot walk, so people have to carry them. So do not be afraid of them. They cannot hurt you. And they do not have any power to help you.’

6There is nobody like you, Lord. You are great and your name shows your power.

7Everyone should respect you, the King who rules all the nations. You deserve that people give you honour. There is nobody like you anywhere in the world. Among all the wise people of the nations and among all their kings, there is no one like you.

8The people of those nations are stupid and foolish. They think that wooden idols can teach them something!

9They bring thin silver from Spain. They bring gold from Uphaz. Workers who know how to use wood and metal make the idols look beautiful. They put valuable blue and purple clothes on the idols. Workers who have special skills do this.

10But the Lord is the only true God. He is the God who is alive. He is the King who rules for ever. When he is angry, the earth shakes. None of the nations can stop his anger.

11Tell the nations this: ‘Your gods did not make the earth or the sky. They will disappear completely from everywhere on earth and everywhere in the sky.’

12But the Lord used his power to make the earth. He used his wisdom to make it strong. He knew how to put the sky to cover the earth.

13When he shouts like thunder, the water in the sky roars. He causes clouds to rise from the far places of the earth. He causes bright lightning to show in the storms. He opens his rooms so that the wind comes out and it blows everywhere.

14People who worship idols are stupid. They do not understand what they are doing. The men who make idols will be ashamed. They make images of gods that are false. None of their idols have the breath of life in them.

15They are useless things that people should laugh at. When the time for their punishment arrives, God will destroy them.

16The God that Jacob's descendants worship is not like those idols. He created everything. He chose the Israelites as the people who would belong to him. His name is the Lord Almighty.