Jeremiah 10:3-16

3Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.

4They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over.

5Their gods are like helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field! They cannot speak, and they need to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of such gods, for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.”

6Lord, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power.

7Who would not fear you, O King of nations? That title belongs to you alone! Among all the wise people of the earth and in all the kingdoms of the world, there is no one like you.

8People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood!

9They bring beaten sheets of silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, and they give these materials to skillful craftsmen who make their idols. Then they dress these gods in royal blue and purple robes made by expert tailors.

10But the Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at his anger. The nations cannot stand up to his wrath.

11Say this to those who worship other gods: “Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

12But the Lord made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens.

13When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.

14The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge! The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make, for their carefully shaped works are a fraud. These idols have no breath or power.

15Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed.

16But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists, including Israel, his own special possession. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!