Yeremia 10:2

10:2 The Lord says,

“Do not start following pagan religious practices. ¹ 

Do not be in awe of signs that occur ²  in the sky

even though the nations hold them in awe.

Yeremia 25:6

25:6 Do not pay allegiance to ³  other gods and worship and serve them. Do not make me angry by the things that you do. ⁴  Then I will not cause you any harm.’

[10:2]  ¹ tn Heb “Do not learn the way of the nations.” For this use of the word “ways” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) compare for example Jer 12:16 and Isa 2:6.

[10:2]  ² tn Heb “signs.” The words “that occur” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:2]  sn The Hebrew word translated here “things that go on in the sky” (אֹתוֹת, ’otot) refers both to unusual disturbances such as eclipses, comets, meteors, etc., but also to such things as the changes in the position of the sun, moon, and stars in conjunction with the changes in seasons (cf. Gen 1:14). The people of Assyria and Babylonia worshiped the sun, moon, and stars, thinking that these heavenly bodies had some hold over them.

[25:6]  ³ tn Heb “follow after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for this idiom.

[25:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “make me angry with the work of your hands.” The term “work of your own hands” is often interpreted as a reference to idolatry as is clearly the case in Isa 2:8; 37:19. However, the parallelism in 25:14 and the context in 32:30 show that it is more general and refers to what they have done. That is likely the meaning here as well.