New English Translation
Jeremiah 10:8
8The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless!
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
6I said, “There is no one like you, Lord. You are great. And you are renowned for your power. 7Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations, because you deserve to be revered. For there is no one like you among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings. The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless! 9Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish and gold is brought from Uphaz to cover those idols. They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths. They are clothed in blue and purple clothes. They are all made by skillful workers. 10The Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. When he shows his anger the earth shakes. None of the nations can stand up to 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 10:14All these idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.
- Jeremiah 51:17All idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.
- Psalms 115:8Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.
- Psalms 135:18Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.
- Isaiah 41:29Look, all of them are nothing, their accomplishments are nonexistent; their metal images lack any real substance.
- Habakkuk 2:18What good is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? Why would its creator place his trust in it and make such mute, worthless things?
- Zechariah 10:2For the household gods have spoken wickedness, the soothsayers have seen a lie, and as for the dreamers, they have disclosed emptiness and give comfort in vain. Therefore the people set out like sheep and become scattered because they have no shepherd.
- Romans 1:21For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.
- Jeremiah 2:17You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path.
- Isaiah 44:19No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves: ‘I burned half of it in the fire – yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?’
- Hosea 4:12They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery against their God.
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
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