Jeremiah 10:3

3 for the customs of the peoples are nothing. They cut down a tree in the forest; a craftsman works it with his axe;

Jeremiah 10:3 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 10:3

For the customs of the people are vain
Or, "their decrees", or "statutes" ^F15, their determinations and conclusions, founded upon the observation of the stars; or, their "rites and ceremonies" ^F16 in religion, in the worship of the sun and moon, and the hosts of heaven. The Syriac version is, "the idols of the people are nothing"; and which appears by what follows: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest (the work of the hands of the
workman) with the axe;
not for building, or for burning, but to make a god of; the vanity, stupidity, and folly of which are manifest, when it is considered that the original of it is a tree that grew in the forest; the matter and substance of it the body and trunk of a tree cut down with an axe, and then hewed with the same, and planed with a plane, and formed into the image of a man, or of some creature; and now, to fall down and worship this must be vanity and madness to the last degree; see ( Isaiah 44:13-17 ) ( 45:20 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 (twqx) "decreta", Targ.; "statua", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Schmidt.
F16 Ritus, Vatablus; "ceremoniae", Tigurine version.

Jeremiah 10:3 In-Context

1 Hear the word ADONAI speaks to you, house of Isra'el!

2 Here is what ADONAI says: "Don't learn the way of the Goyim, don't be frightened by astrological signs, even if the Goyim are afraid of them;

3 for the customs of the peoples are nothing. They cut down a tree in the forest; a craftsman works it with his axe;

4 they deck it with silver and gold. They fix it with hammer and nails, so that it won't move.

5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch, it cannot speak. It has to be carried, because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of it it can do nothing bad; likewise it is unable to do anything good!"