| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O Israel! | 1You people of Israel, listen to what the LORD has to say to you. |
| 2This is what the LORD says: “Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them. | 2The LORD says, "Do not start following pagan religious practices. Do not be in awe of signs that occur in the sky even though the nations hold them in awe. |
| 3Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol. | 3For the religion of these people is worthless. They cut down a tree in the forest, and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools. |
| 4They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over. | 4He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold. He uses hammer and nails to fasten it together so that it will not 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.” | 5Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field. They cannot talk. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them because they cannot hurt you. And they do not have any power to help you." |
| 6LORD, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power. | 6I said, "There is no one like you, LORD. You are great. And you are renowned for your 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. | 7Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations, because you deserve to be revered. For there is no one like you among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings. |
| 8People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood! | 8The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless! |
| 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. | 9Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish and gold is brought from Uphaz to cover those idols. They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths. They are clothed in blue and purple clothes. They are all made by skillful workers. |
| 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. | 10The LORD is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. When he shows his anger the earth shakes. None of the nations can stand up to his fury. |
| 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.” | 11You people of Israel should tell those nations this: 'These gods did not make heaven and earth. They will disappear 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. | 12The LORD is the one who by his power made the earth. He is the one who by his wisdom established the world. And by his understanding he spread out the skies. |
| 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. | 13When his voice thunders, the heavenly ocean roars. He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain. He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it. |
| 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. | 14All these idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols. |
| 15Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed. | 15They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked. When the time comes to punish them, they will 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! The Coming Destruction | 16The LORD, who is the inheritance of Jacob's descendants, is not like them. He is the one who created everything. And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. He is known as the LORD who rules over all." |
| 17Pack your bags and prepare to leave; the siege is about to begin. | 17Gather your belongings together and prepare to leave the land, you people of Jerusalem who are being besieged. |
| 18For this is what the LORD says: “Suddenly, I will fling out all you who live in this land. I will pour great troubles upon you, and at last you will feel my anger.” | 18For the LORD says, "I will now throw out those who live in this land. I will bring so much trouble on them that they will actually feel it." |
| 19My wound is severe, and my grief is great. My sickness is incurable, but I must bear it. | 19And I cried out, "We are doomed! Our wound is severe! We once thought, 'This is only an illness. And we will be able to bear it!' |
| 20My home is gone, and no one is left to help me rebuild it. My children have been taken away, and I will never see them again. | 20But our tents have been destroyed. The ropes that held them in place have been ripped apart. Our children are gone and are not coming back. There is no survivor to put our tents back up, no one left to hang their tent curtains in place. |
| 21The shepherds of my people have lost their senses. They no longer seek wisdom from the LORD. Therefore, they fail completely, and their flocks are scattered. | 21For our leaders are stupid. They have not sought the LORD's advice. So they do not act wisely, and the people they are responsible for have all been scattered. |
| 22Listen! Hear the terrifying roar of great armies as they roll down from the north. The towns of Judah will be destroyed and become a haunt for jackals. Jeremiah’s Prayer | 22Listen! News is coming even now. The rumble of a great army is heard approaching from a land in the north. It is coming to turn the towns of Judah into rubble, places where only jackals live. |
| 23I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. | 23LORD, we know that people do not control their own destiny. It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. |
| 24So correct me, LORD, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die. | 24Correct us, LORD, but only in due measure. Do not punish us in anger or you will reduce us to nothing. |
| 25Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you— on the peoples that do not call upon your name. For they have devoured your people Israel ; they have devoured and consumed them, making the land a desolate wilderness. | 25Vent your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you. Vent it on the peoples who do not worship you. For they have destroyed the people of Jacob. They have completely destroyed them and left their homeland in utter ruin. |
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