Yahweh says, “Don’t learn the way of the nations, and don’t be dismayed at the signs of the sky; for the nations are dismayed at them.
Parallel translations
- KJV Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
- BSB This is what the LORD says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by the signs in the heavens, though the nations themselves are terrified by them.
- NKJV Thus says the Lord: “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
- NASB This is what the Lord says: “Do not learn the way of the nations, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens, Although the nations are terrified by them;
- NLT This is what the Lord says: “Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God warns Israel not to imitate the nations or fear celestial omens that terrify the pagans. God's people need not dread what unbelievers dread.
Overview
Yahweh forbids learning 'the way of the nations,' particularly the superstitious fear of signs in the sky used in astrology and omen-reading. Because the heavens are God's creation, His people have no cause to be dismayed by them. The verse calls believers to a confidence rooted in the Creator rather than in the fears that drive a world ignorant of Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Lev 20:23You shall not walk in the customs of the nation, which I am casting out before you: for they did all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
- Lev 18:3You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived: and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes.
- Luke 21:25–28There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves;
- Ezek 20:32“‘“That which comes into your mind shall not be at all, in that you say, ‘We will be as the nations, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone.’
- Deut 12:30–31be careful that you are not ensnared to follow them, after that they are destroyed from before you; and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”
- Isa 47:12–14“Stand now with your enchantments, and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth; as if you might profit; as if you might prevail.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 10:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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