Jeremiah 10:5-15

5 Their idols[a] are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and 1they cannot speak; 2they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, 3for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good."
6 4There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.
7 5Who 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.
8 6They are both 7stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!
9 8Beaten silver is brought from 9Tarshish, and gold from 10Uphaz. 11They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; 12they are all the work of skilled men.
10 13But the LORD is the true God; 14he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
11 Thus shall you say to them: 15"The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth 16shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens."[b]
12 17It is he who 18made the earth by his power, 19who established the world by his wisdom, and 20by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
13 21When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, 22and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. 23He makes lightning 24for the rain, 25and he brings forth the wind 26from his storehouses.
14 27Every man is stupid and without knowledge; 28every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, 29and there is no breath in them.
15 They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

Jeremiah 10:5-15 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 10

This chapter shows that there is no comparison to be made between God and the idols of the Gentiles; represents the destruction of the Jews as near at hand; and is closed with some petitions of the prophet. It begins by way of preface with an exhortation to hear the word of the Lord, and a dehortation not to learn the way of the Heathens, or be dismayed at their signs, since their customs were in vain, Jer 10:1-3 which lead on to expose their idols, and set forth the greatness and glory of God. Their idols are described by the matter and makers of them, Jer 10:3,4,9 and from their impotence to speak, to stand, to move, or do either good or evil, Jer 10:4,5, but, on the other hand, God is described by the greatness of his name and power, and by the reverence that belongs unto him; in comparison of whom all the wise men of the nations are brutish, foolish, and vain, Jer 10:6-8, by the epithets of true, living, and everlasting, and by the terribleness of his wrath, Jer 10:10, by his power and wisdom, in making the heavens and the earth, in causing thunder and lightning, wind and rain, when the gods that have no share in these shall utterly perish, Jer 10:11-13 their makers being brutish, and brought to shame; and they falsehood and breathless vanity, the work of errors, and so shall come to ruin, Jer 10:14,15, but he, who is Jacob's portion, and whose inheritance Israel is, is not like them; being the former of all things, and his name the Lord of hosts, Jer 10:16 and next follows a prophecy of the destruction of the Jews; wherefore they are bid to gather up their wares, since in a very little time, and at once, the Lord would fling them out of the land, and bring them into distress, Jer 10:17,18, upon which the prophet expresses his sympathy with his people in trouble, and the part of grief he took and bore with them, Jer 10:19, the particulars of his distress, through the desolation of the land, and the captivity of the people, with the cause and authors of it, by whose means these things were brought upon them, are mentioned, Jer 10:20,21, and the Chaldean army, the instruments of their ruin, are represented as just at hand, Jer 10:22, when the prophet, directing himself to God, acknowledges the impotence of man in general to help and guide himself, deprecates correction in anger to himself in particular, and prays that the wrath of God might be poured down upon the Heathens, by whom his people were devoured, consumed, and made desolate, Jer 10:23-25.

Cross References 29

  • 1. Psalms 115:5; Psalms 135:16; Habakkuk 2:18, 19; 1 Corinthians 12:2
  • 2. Psalms 115:7; Isaiah 46:7
  • 3. Isaiah 41:23
  • 4. Jeremiah 49:19; Exodus 15:11; Psalms 86:8, 10
  • 5. Jeremiah 5:22; Revelation 15:4
  • 6. [Isaiah 41:29; Habakkuk 2:18; Zechariah 10:2]
  • 7. ver. 21
  • 8. Isaiah 40:19
  • 9. Genesis 10:4; See 1 Kings 10:22
  • 10. Daniel 10:5
  • 11. Isaiah 40:19
  • 12. Psalms 115:4
  • 13. Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalms 31:5
  • 14. Psalms 42:2
  • 15. [Psalms 96:5]
  • 16. ver. 15; Isaiah 2:18; Zechariah 13:2
  • 17. For ver. 12-16, see Jeremiah 51:15-19
  • 18. Gen. 1:1, 6, 9; Psalms 104:5; Proverbs 3:19
  • 19. Gen. 1:1, 6, 9; Psalms 104:5; Proverbs 3:19
  • 20. Job 9:8
  • 21. [Job 38:34; Psalms 104:6, 7]
  • 22. Psalms 135:7
  • 23. Psalms 135:7
  • 24. Jeremiah 14:22; Job 5:10
  • 25. Psalms 135:7
  • 26. Job 38:22
  • 27. ver. 8; Proverbs 30:2; [Romans 1:22]
  • 28. See Isaiah 42:17
  • 29. Psalms 135:17; Habakkuk 2:19

Footnotes 2

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.