Dead Idols, the Living Father
10 1 Hear the word that our Father speaks to you, house of Israel.
2 This is what our Father says: "Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not be terrified by the signs in the heavens, even though the nations are terrified by them. 3 For the customs of the peoples are worthless: someone cuts a tree from the forest, and the craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4 They beautify it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not topple. 5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they can do no harm, and they have no power to do any good either.
6 There is no one like you, our Father; you are great, and your name is great in power. 7 Who would not fear you, King of the nations? This is your due, for among all the wise people of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is no one like you. 8 They are all senseless and foolish; their instruction comes from worthless idols — nothing but wood. 9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, crafted by craftsmen and goldsmiths; their clothing is violet and purple — all of it the work of skilled hands. 10 But our Father is the true One; he is the living Father and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his fury.
11 Say this to them: "These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens." 12 It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. 13 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes the mists rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. 14 Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his cast images are a lie, and there is no breath in them. 15 They are worthless, a mockery; at the time of their punishment they will perish. 16 The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the Father of heaven's armies is his name. a a v16 "The Portion of Jacob" is a title for God, naming him as the true treasure and inheritance belonging to his people.
The Coming Exile
17 Gather up your bundle from the ground, you who live under siege.
18 For this is what our Father says: "Look, this time I am hurling out the inhabitants of the land, and I will bring distress on them so that they will feel it."
19 Woe to me because of my wound! My injury is grievous. But I said, "Surely this is my sickness, and I must bear it." 20 My tent is destroyed, and all my ropes are snapped. My children have left me and are no more; there is no one left to pitch my tent again or to set up my curtains. 21 For the shepherds have become senseless and have not sought our Father; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered. 22 Listen! A report is coming — a great commotion from the land of the north — to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a haunt of jackals. 23 I know, our Father, that a person's way is not their own; no one who walks can direct their own steps.
Jeremiah's Prayer for Mercy
24 Correct me, our Father, but with justice — not in your anger, or you will reduce me to nothing. 25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not know you, and on the peoples that do not call on your name; for they have devoured Jacob — devoured him and consumed him — and laid waste his pasture.