Jeremiah 10:5

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 people are vain: 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 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. 6Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Yhwh; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 7Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

Jeremiah 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

• uprightמִקְשָׁהmiqshâh · hammered workH4749
• as the palm treeתֹּ֫מֶרtômer · palmH8560
• but speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• not: they must needsנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearH5375
• because they cannot goצָעַדtsâ‛ad · to marchH6805
• Be not afraidיָרֵאyârê' · to fearH3372
• of them; for they cannot do evilרָעַעrâ‛a‛ · be evilH7489
• in them to do goodיָטַבyâţab · be goodH3190

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, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
• 1 Corinthians 12:2Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
• Revelation 13:14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power 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, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
• Isaiah 46:1Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.
• Isaiah 41:23Shew 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 make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
• Isaiah 45:20Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
• 1 Corinthians 8:4As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other 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

• Idolatry

In the dictionaries

• Palm tree
• Cord
• Custom
• Covenant, the New
• Exodus, the Book of
• Habakkuk
• Jeremy, the Epistle of
• Zedekiah (2)

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