Jeremiah 10:4

4 They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter.

Jeremiah 10:4 in Other Translations

KJV
4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
ESV
4 They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move.
NLT
4 They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over.
MSG
4 They trim it with tinsel and balls, use hammer and nails to keep it upright.
CSB
4 He decorates it with silver and gold. It is fastened with hammer and nails, so it won't totter.

Jeremiah 10:4 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 10:4

They deck it with silver and with gold
Cover it with plates of silver and gold, for the sake of ornament, that it may look grand, majestic, and venerable; and by this means draw the eye and attention, and so the devotion of people to it: they fasten it with nails and hammers, that it move not.
The sense is, either that the idol was fastened to some post or pillar, or in some certain place on a pedestal, that it might not fall, it not being able otherwise to support itself; or the plates of silver and gold, as Kimchi thinks, were fastened to the idol with nails and hammers, that so they might not be taken away from it; for, were it not for the nails, the god would not be able to keep his silver and golden deckings.

Jeremiah 10:4 In-Context

2 This is what the LORD says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them.
3 For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
4 They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter.
5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.”
6 No one is like you, LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Psalms 135:15; Hosea 13:2; Habakkuk 2:19
  • 2. S 1 Samuel 5:3; Isaiah 41:7
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