Jeremiah - Chapter 10
People are Ignorant
Jeremiah tells Israel to listen to what G-d has to say about them. Don't learn the ways of the other nations and don't turn to the stars in the sky, as the other nations do; they will come to regret it. Worshipping heavenly bodies is bad enough, and it leads to worshipping idols of wood and stone. A carpenter chops a tree and carves it, embellishing it with silver and gold and reinforcing it with nails. These idols have no more ability to speak or walk than the trees from which they were made. They can neither harm nor save.
There is nobody like G-d, Who is great and Who has real power. Who would not be in awe of G-d, Who deserves to be acknowledged as the real Ruler of the universe? The nations are foolish for serving idols that are simply lumps of wood plated in precious metals. There's a real G-d, Whose anger will make the ground shake.
Jeremiah instructs King Yehoyachin and the exiles to tell the Kasdim (Chaldeans) that their "gods" did not make Heaven and Earth, but they will perish from Heaven and Earth! (This verse is in Aramaic, the language of Babylonia, because they were to deliver the message in the vernacular.) G-d made the Heavens and Earth with strength, wisdom and understanding. He made the clouds, the lightning and the wind. People are ignorant of what G-d knows and how He does what He does. The idols made by artisans can't do anything - they're not even alive! They're a lie and they will perish from the world. G-d, Who revealed Himself to Israel, created everything and rules over myriads.
Next, Jeremiah tells the people under siege to gather their belongings. G-d says that He will greatly afflict the inhabitants of the land. Again, Jeremiah mourns for the destruction he sees; it's very painful for him, but he must endure it.
Jerusalem has been ruined and the inhabitants have been exiled. The kings, who were shepherds of the people, did not seek G-d with the result that the people - their flocks - have gone astray. Word has come from the north that Nebuchadnezzar is on the move; he is coming to lay waste to Judah.
Jeremiah tells G-d that he understands that Nebuchadnezzar could not accomplish this if it were counter to G-d's plan. He acknowledges that the people deserve to be punished, but he asks that G-d temper his attribute of justice with that of mercy so the people will not be destroyed. Instead, he asks that G-d redirect some of His wrath to the nations that do not recognize Him and who have oppressed Israel over the years.