People of Israel, trust the Lord!\par The Lord is their strength and shield.\par
Jeremiah 10:15 - Easy To Read Version Those idols are worth nothing.\par They are something to make fun of.\par In the time of judgment,\par those idols will be destroyed.\par Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition They are devoid of worth, usefulness, or truth, a work of delusion and mockery; in their time of trial and punishment they shall [helplessly] perish. American Standard Version (1901) They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. Common English Bible They are a delusion, a charade; at the appointed time they will vanish! Catholic Public Domain Version These things are empty, and they are a work deserving of ridicule. In the time of their visitation, they will perish. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version They are vain things and a ridiculous work: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. |
People of Israel, trust the Lord!\par The Lord is their strength and shield.\par
“Look, you false gods are less than nothing! You can’t do anything! Only a worthless person would want to worship you!”
All of those gods are less than nothing!\par They can’t do anything!\par Those statues are absolutely worthless!\par
I could tell about your ‘good works’\par and all the ‘religious’ things you do;\par but those things are useless!\par
\{The Lord says,\}\par “Tell this message to those people:\par ‘Those false gods did not make\par heaven and earth.\par And those false gods will be destroyed\par and disappear from heaven and earth.’” {\cf2\super [81]} \par
All the people of the other nations are stupid and foolish.\par Their teachings come from worthless wooden statues.\par
Foreign idols don’t have the power\par to bring rain.\par The sky does not have the power\par to send showers of rain down.\par You are our only hope.\par You are the One who made all these things.”\par
But my people have forgotten about me.\par They make offerings to worthless idols.\par My people stumble in the things they do.\par They stumble about in the old paths\par of their ancestors. {\cf2\super [153]} \par My people would rather walk\par along back roads and poor highways,\par than to follow me on the good roads.\par
Nebuchadnezzar will start a fire in the temples of the false gods of Egypt. He will burn those temples and he will take those idols away. A shepherd picks the bugs and stickers off of his clothes to make them clean. In the same way, Nebuchadnezzar will pick Egypt clean. Then he will safely leave Egypt.
“Announce this to all nations!\par Lift up a flag and announce the message!\par Speak the whole message and say,\par ‘The nation of Babylon will be captured.\par The god Bel {\cf2\super [407]} will be put to shame.\par The god Marduk {\cf2\super [408]} will be very afraid.\par Babylon’s idols will be put to shame.\par Her idol gods will be filled with terror.’\par
Those idols are worthless.\par People made those idols,\par and they are nothing but a joke.\par Their time of judgment will come,\par and those idols will be destroyed.\par
They should be ashamed\par of the bad things they do.\par But they are not ashamed at all.\par They don’t know enough\par to be embarrassed of their sins.\par So they will be punished with everyone else.\par They will be thrown to the ground\par when I punish the people.”\par The Lord said those things.\par
Listen to my people.\par Everywhere in this country\par people are crying for help.\par They say,\par “Is the Lord still at Zion {\cf2\super [74]} ?\par Is Zion’s King still there?”\par
The prophet says, “Israel, learn these things: The time of punishment has come. The time has come for you to pay \{for the evil things you did\}.” But the people of Israel say, “The prophet is a fool. This man with \{God’s\} Spirit is crazy.” The prophet says, “You will be punished for your bad sins. You will be punished for your hate.”
“Some people worship useless idols.\par But those statues never help them. {\cf2\super [12]} \par
The Lord All-Powerful says, “At that time, I will remove all the idols from the earth. People will not even remember their names. And I will remove the \{false\} prophets and unclean {\cf2\super [31]} spirits from the earth.
“Men, why are you doing these things? We are not gods! We have the same feelings as you have! We came to tell you the Good News. {\cf2\super [290]} We are telling you to turn away from these worthless things. Turn to the true living God. He is the One who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.
They made me jealous with {demons} that aren’t gods. They made me angry with those worthless idols. So I will make them jealous with people that are not a real nation. I will make them angry with people that are a foolish [213] nation.
Idols are only statues—they can’t help you! So don’t worship them. Idols can’t help you or save you. They are nothing!
But the next morning when the people of Ashdod got up, they found Dagon on the ground again! Dagon had fallen down before the Lord’s Holy Box. [58] This time, Dagon’s head and hands were broken off and lying on the threshold. [59] Only Dagon’s body was still in one piece.