A reading from the book of Jeremiah.

Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O House of Israel.

Thus says the Lord.

Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them.

For the customs of the peoples are vanity.

A tree from the forest is cut down, and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.

They decorate it with silver and gold, they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot

move.

Their idols are like scarecrow's in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak.

They have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil,

neither is it in them to do good. There is none like you, O Lord.

You are great, and your name is great in might.

Who would not fear you, O king of the nations, for this is your due.

For among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like you.

They are both stupid and foolish. The instruction of idols is but wood.

Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Euphaz. They are the work of the craftsmen and of the

hands of the goldsmith.

Their clothing is violet and purple. They are all the work of skilled men. But the Lord is the

true God. He is the living God and the everlasting king. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

Thus shall you say to them, the gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish

from the earth and from under the heavens. It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world

by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice,

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