1A copy of the letter that Jeremiah sent to those who were to be taken captive to Babylon by the king of the Babylonians, to declare to them what he had been commanded by God. Because of the sins that you have committed before God, you will be led as captives to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians.
2So when you have entered Babylon, you will be there for many years and a long time, up to seven generations. And after this, I will bring you out from there in peace.
3But now you will see in Babylon gods of silver, gold, and wood, carried on shoulders, which inspire fear in the nations.
4Therefore be careful that you do not become like the foreigners and be assimilated, and that fear of them does not seize you,
5when you see a crowd before and behind them worshiping them. But say in your mind, “It is you we must worship, O Master.”
6For my angel is with you, and he himself is watching over your souls.
7For their tongue is polished by a craftsman, and they are overlaid with gold and silver, but they are false and cannot speak.
8and taking gold as for a virgin fond of adornment,
9they make crowns for the heads of their gods. And sometimes the priests steal gold and silver from their gods and spend it on themselves,
10and they even give some of it to the temple prostitutes. They also adorn them with clothing, like people—these gods of silver, gold, and wood.
11But these are not preserved from rust and corrosion, though they are clothed in purple garments.
12Their faces are wiped clean of the dust from the temple, which is thick upon them.
13It holds a scepter, like a human judge of a country, but it will not execute one who offends it.
14It holds a dagger in its right hand and an axe, but it cannot deliver itself from war and robbers. From this it is clear they are not gods; so do not fear them.
15For just as a person’s vessel, when broken, becomes useless,
16so are their gods when they have been set up in the temples. Their eyes are full of dust from the feet of those who enter.
17And just as for someone who has wronged a king, the courtyards are enclosed—like for one being led away to execution—so the priests fortify their temples with doors, locks, and bars, to keep them from being plundered by robbers.
18They light lamps, more than for themselves, but the idols can see none of them.
19It is like one of the beams of the temple, and they say their hearts are eaten out. When creeping things from the earth devour them and their clothing, they feel nothing.
20Their faces are blackened by the smoke from the temple.
21Bats, swallows, and other birds land on their bodies and heads, and cats do likewise.
22From this you will know that they are not gods; therefore do not fear them.
23For the gold with which they are adorned for beauty will not shine unless someone wipes off the tarnish. For they did not even feel it when they were being melted.
24They are bought at any price, yet there is no spirit in them.
25Footless, they are carried on shoulders, displaying their own dishonor to people. And their worshipers are also put to shame,
26because if it should ever fall to the ground, it has to be set up by them. If someone sets it upright, it will not move by itself; and if it is tilted, it will not straighten itself. But gifts are set before them as before the dead.
27Their priests sell the sacrifices offered to them and misuse the money. Likewise, their wives salt some of the meat but share none of it with the poor or the helpless.
28Menstruating women and women in childbirth touch their sacrifices. Therefore, knowing from these things that they are not gods, do not fear them.
29For how can they be called gods, when women set offerings before gods of silver, gold, and wood?
30And in their temples the priests sit with torn tunics, their heads and beards shaved, and their heads uncovered.
31They howl and cry out before their gods, like some people at a funeral banquet.
32The priests take from their garments to clothe their own wives and children.
33If they suffer evil or receive good from someone, they cannot repay it. They can neither establish a king nor depose one.
34Likewise, they can give neither wealth nor money. If someone makes a vow to them and does not fulfill it, they will not demand it back.
35They will not rescue a person from death, nor will they deliver the weak from the strong.
36They will not restore sight to a blind person, nor will they deliver a person in distress.
37They will not have mercy on a widow, nor will they do good to an orphan.
38These wooden, gilded, and silver-plated things are like stones from the mountain, and those who worship them will be put to shame.
39How then can one consider or call them gods?
40Furthermore, the Chaldeans themselves dishonor them. For when they see a person who is mute and cannot speak, they bring him to Bel and implore him to grant speech, as though Bel were able to perceive.
41Yet they themselves cannot understand and abandon them, for they have no perception.
42And the women, with ropes around them, sit in the streets, burning bran for incense.
43And when one of them is pulled aside by a passer-by and sleeps with him, she taunts her neighbor that she was not considered worthy as she was, and that her rope was not broken.
44Everything done concerning them is false. How then can one consider or call them gods?
45They are made by carpenters and goldsmiths; they can become nothing other than what the craftsmen want them to be.
46And the very men who make them will not live for a long time.
47How then can the things made by them be gods? For they have left lies and a reproach to posterity.
48For when war and calamities come upon them, the priests consult among themselves where they can hide along with them.
49How then can one not perceive that they are not gods, since they save neither themselves from war nor from calamities?
50For being wooden, gilded, and silver-plated, it will afterward be known that they are false. It will be clear to all the nations and their kings that they are not gods, but the work of human hands, and that there is no work of God in them.
51How then can it be known that they are not gods?
52For they will not raise up a king for a country, nor will they give rain to people.
53And they will not decide their own cases, nor deliver from injustice, since they are powerless.
54For they are like crows between heaven and earth. And indeed, when fire breaks out in the temple of the wooden, gilded, or silver-plated gods, their priests will flee and save themselves, but the gods themselves will be burned up in the middle like beams.
55And they will not stand against a king or enemies.
56How then can it be accepted or considered that they are gods? These wooden, silver-plated, and gilded gods cannot save themselves from thieves or robbers.
57The strong strip the gold and silver from them and go away with their clothing, yet the gods cannot help themselves.
58Therefore, a king who displays his courage is better than these false gods, as is a useful vessel in a house that its owner uses. A door in a house that protects its contents is better, and a wooden pillar in a palace is better, than these false gods.
59For the sun, moon, and stars, being bright and sent for their duties, are obedient.
60Likewise, when lightning appears, it is easy to see; and in the same way, the wind blows in every land.
61And the clouds, whenever they are commanded by God to travel over the whole inhabited world, accomplish what was assigned.
62And the fire, sent out from above to consume mountains and forests, does what was commanded. But these idols are like them neither in their appearance nor in their powers.
63Therefore, one must neither consider nor call them gods, since they are not able to either execute judgment or do good to people.
64Therefore, knowing that they are not gods, do not fear them.
65For they will neither curse kings nor bless them.
66And they will not show signs in heaven among the nations, nor will they shine like the sun, nor give light like the moon.
67The wild animals are better than them, for they are able to help themselves by fleeing to shelter.
68Therefore, it is in no way clear to us that they are gods, so do not fear them.
69For just as a scarecrow in a cucumber patch guards nothing, so are their gods of wood and plated with gold and silver.
70Their gods of wood, plated with gold and silver, are like a thornbush in a garden on which every bird perches, and likewise they are like a corpse thrown out in the darkness.
71And from the purple and fine linen that rots on them, it will be known that they are not gods. They themselves will afterward be eaten and will be a disgrace in the land.
72Therefore, a righteous person who has no idols is better, for he will be far from reproach.
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