American Standard Version
Jeremiah 10:5
5They are like a palm-tree, of turned work, and speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.
Jeremiah 10:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
- New International Version (NIV)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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good."
- New King James Version (NKJV)They are upright, like a palm tree, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, For they cannot do evil, Nor can they do any good.”
Context of Jeremiah 10:5
3For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe. 4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are like a palm-tree, of turned work, and speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good. 6There is none like unto thee, O Jehovah; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 7Who should not fear thee, O King of the nations? for to thee doth it appertain; forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is none like unto thee.
Read all of Jeremiah 10Jeremiah 10:5 word by word
כְּתֹ֨מֶר מִקְשָׁ֥ה הֵ֙מָּה֙ וְלֹ֣א יְדַבֵּ֔רוּ נָשׂ֥וֹא יִנָּשׂ֖וּא כִּ֣י לֹ֣א יִצְעָ֑דוּ אַל־תִּֽירְא֤וּ מֵהֶם֙ כִּי־לֹ֣א יָרֵ֔עוּ וְגַם־הֵיטֵ֖יב אֵ֥ין אוֹתָֽם׃ סRead the interlinear
Cross-references for Jeremiah 10:5
- Psalms 115:5They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not;
- Psalms 135:16They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not;
- Habakkuk 2:19Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise! Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
- 1 Corinthians 12:2Ye know that when ye were Gentiles ye were led away unto those dumb idols, howsoever ye might be led.
- Revelation 13:14And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who hath the stroke of the sword and lived.
- Isaiah 46:1Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth; their idols are upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: the things that ye carried about are made a load, a burden to the weary beast.
- Isaiah 41:23Declare the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.
- Isaiah 44:9They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity; and the things that they delight in shall not profit; and their own witnesses see not, nor know: that they may be put to shame.
- Isaiah 45:20Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4Concerning therefore the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no God but one.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 10:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5They are upright as the palm tree - As straight and as stiff as the trees out of which they are hewn.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5They are upright - Rather, “They are like a palm tree of turned work, i. e.” like one of those stiff inelegant pillars, something like a palm tree, which may be seen in oriental architecture. Some translate thus: “They are like pillar‘s in a garden of cucumbers, i. e.” like the blocks set up to frighten away the birds; but none of the ancient versions support this rendering.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Scarecrows in a garden only scare birds that do not know better. Similarly, idols are feared only by people who do not know better.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. upright--or, "They are of turned work, resembling a palm tree" [Maurer]. The point of comparison between the idol and the palm is in the pillar-like uprightness of the latter, it having no branches except at the top. speak not--(Psa 115:5). cannot go--that is, walk (Psa 115:7; Is 46:1, 7). neither ... do good--(Is 41:23).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 10:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries