English Standard Version
Jeremiah 10:8
8They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!
Jeremiah 10:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.
- New International Version (NIV)They are all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.
- New Living Translation (NLT)People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood!
Context of Jeremiah 10:8
6There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might. 7Who 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. They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood! 9Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men. 10But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
Read all of Jeremiah 10Jeremiah 10:8 word by word
וּבְאַחַ֖ת יִבְעֲר֣וּ וְיִכְסָ֑לוּ מוּסַ֥ר הֲבָלִ֖ים עֵ֥ץ הֽוּא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 10:8
- Jeremiah 10:14Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them.
- Jeremiah 51:17Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them.
- Psalms 115:8Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.
- Psalms 135:18Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.
- Isaiah 41:29Behold, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind.
- Habakkuk 2:18"What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols!
- Zechariah 10:2For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
- Romans 1:21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
- Jeremiah 2:17Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the Lord your God, when he led you in the way?
- Isaiah 44:19No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, "Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?"
- Hosea 4:12My people inquire of a piece of wood, and their walking staff gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have left their God to play the whore.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 10:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8The stock is a doctrine of vanities - Dr. Blayney translates, - "The wood itself is a rebuker of vanities." The very tree out of which the god is hewn demonstrates the vanity and folly of the idolaters; for, can all the art of man make out of a log of wood an animate and intelligent being?Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Brutish - Jeremiah 10:21 and foolish Theirs was the brutishness of men in a savage state, little better than mere animals: their folly that of stupidity. The stock - Rather, the instruction of idols is a piece of wood. That is what they are themselves, and “ex nihilo nihil fit” (from nothingness, nothing is made).Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-16This poetic passage criticizes idol worship and affirms the unity and majesty of the one true God. It is not a logical discussion of divinity in nature or a detailed statement about God's attributes. Instead, it is a poem about the foolishness of worshiping idols that the worshipers have made. It includes strong affirmations of faith that clearly declare who God is.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. altogether--rather, "all alike" [Maurer]. Even the so-called "wise" men (Jr 10:7) of the Gentiles are on a level with the brutes and "foolish," namely, because they connive at the popular idolatry (compare Ro 1:21-28). Therefore, in Daniel and Revelation, the world power is represented under a bestial form. Man divests himself of his true humanity, and sinks to the level of the brute, when he severs his connection with God (Psa 115:8; Jon 2:8). stock…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 10:8
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries