God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 10:8
8They are complete idiots. They learn nonsense from wooden idols.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!
- New King James Version (NKJV)But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.
Context of Jeremiah 10:8
6No one is like you, O Lord. You are great. Your name is powerful. 7Everyone fears you, O King of the Nations. This is what you deserve. No one is like you among all the wise people in the nations or in all their kingdoms. They are complete idiots. They learn nonsense from wooden idols. 9Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz. Craftsmen and goldsmiths shape these metals. The clothing for the idols is blue and purple, all made by skilled workers. 10But the Lord is the only God. He is the living God and eternal king. The earth trembles when he is angry. The nations can’t endure his fury.
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 10:14Everyone is stupid and ignorant. Metalsmiths are put to shame by their idols. Their statues are false ⌞gods⌟. They can’t breathe.
- Jeremiah 51:17Everyone is stupid and ignorant. Metalsmiths are put to shame by their idols. Their statues are false ⌞gods⌟.
- Psalms 115:8Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts them.
- Psalms 135:18Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts them.
- Isaiah 41:29All of them are nothing. They can’t do anything. Their statues are nothing but air.”
- Habakkuk 2:18“What benefit is there in a carved idol when its maker has carved it? What benefit is there in a molded statue, a teacher of lies, when its maker has molded it? The one who formed it trusts himself to make worthless idols that cannot speak.
- Zechariah 10:2The idols speak lies. The fortunetellers see false visions. They speak about false dreams. They give useless comfort. That is why people wander around like sheep. They are troubled because there is no shepherd.
- Romans 1:21They knew God but did not praise and thank him for being God. Instead, their thoughts were pointless, and their misguided minds were plunged into darkness.
- Jeremiah 2:17You have brought this on yourself by abandoning the Lord your God when he led you on his way.
- Isaiah 44:19No one stops to think. No one has enough knowledge or understanding to say, “I burned half of the wood in the fire. I also baked bread over its coals. I roasted meat and ate it. Now I am making the rest of the wood into a disgusting thing and bowing to a block of wood.”
- Hosea 4:12My people ask their wooden idols for help. A piece of wood tells them what to do. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray. They commit adultery by giving themselves to other gods.
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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