Jeremiah 10:3

Jeremiah 10:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
• English Standard Version (ESV)for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.

Context of Jeremiah 10:3

1Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. 2This is what the Lord says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them. For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. 5Like 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.”

Jeremiah 10:3 word by word

כִּֽי־חֻקּ֥וֹת הָֽעַמִּ֖ים הֶ֣בֶל ה֑וּא כִּֽי־עֵץ֙ מִיַּ֣עַר כְּרָת֔וֹ מַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יְדֵ֥י־חָרָ֖שׁ בַּֽמַּעֲצָֽד׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For the customsחֻקָּהchûqqâh · statuteH2708
• of the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• vainהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• cuttethכָּרַתkârath · to cut: cutH3772
• a treeעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086
• out of the forestיַ֫עַרya‛ar · woodH3293
• the workמַעֲשֶׂהma‛ăώeh · deed: workH4639
• of the handsיָדyâd · handH3027
• of the workmanחָרָשׁ, חֲרָשִׁיםchârâsh · artificerH2796
• with the axeמַעֲצָדma‛ătsâd · axeH4621

Cross-references for Jeremiah 10:3

• Jeremiah 10:8They are all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols.
• Jeremiah 2:5This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
• Leviticus 18:30Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.’ ”
• 1 Kings 18:26So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
• Matthew 6:7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
• Romans 1:21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
• 1 Peter 1:18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,
• Isaiah 40:19As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.
• Isaiah 44:9All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame.
• Isaiah 45:20“Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.
• Hosea 8:4They set up kings without my consent; they choose princes without my approval. With their silver and gold they make idols for themselves to their own destruction.
• Habakkuk 2:18“Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 10:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3The customs of the people are vain - חקות chukkoth ; the statutes and principles of the science are vain, empty, and illusory. They are founded in nonsense, ignorance, idolatry, and folly. One cutteth a tree out of the forest - See the notes on Isaiah 40:19; (note), and Isaiah 44:9; (note), etc., which are all parallel places and where this conduct is strongly ridiculed.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The customs - Better, as the marg, “the ordinances,” established institutions, “of the peoples, i. e.” pagan nations.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The stars cannot predict anything; only the Lord knows the future. A craftsman carved a wooden idol from a tree until it resembled a creature on earth (Isaiah 40:18–20; 44:9–20).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-251. Israel--the Jews, the surviving representatives of the nation.Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 10:3

• Gentiles
• Idolatry

In the dictionaries

• Axe
• Cord
• Custom
• Ax (axe); Ax-Head
• Covenant, the New
• Custom (2)
• Exodus, the Book of
• Habakkuk
• Jeremy, the Epistle of
• Tongs

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