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Jeremiah 10

Jeremiah contrasts helpless idols with the living Creator, then brings Judah’s coming ruin before him in lament and prayer.

YHWH addresses the house of Israel through Jeremiah, warning them against the nations’ idols and fear of signs in the sky. Craftsmen make gods that cannot move or speak; Israel’s God made the earth and rules the nations. The chapter then turns to siege, expulsion, and ruined homes. A lament describes a shattered tent and lost children, though the speaker’s identity is not explicit. The closing prayer asks for measured correction and judgment on those who have devoured Jacob.

fear for the futureinjustice and angersermon or Bible study notes
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1Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, house of Israel!
2The LORD says, “Don’t learn the way of the nations, and don’t be dismayed at the signs of the sky; for the nations are dismayed at them.
3For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the ax.
4They deck it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers, so that it can’t move.
5They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and don’t speak. They must be carried, because they can’t move. Don’t be afraid of them; for they can’t do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”
6There is no one like you, LORD. You are great, and your name is great in might.
7Who shouldn’t fear you, King of the nations? For it belongs to you. Because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is no one like you.
8But they are together brutish and foolish, instructed by idols! It is just wood.
9There is silver beaten into plates, which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the engraver and of the hands of the goldsmith. Their clothing is blue and purple. They are all the work of skillful men.
10But the LORD is the true God. He is the living God, and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth trembles. The nations aren’t able to withstand his indignation.
11“You shall say this to them: ‘The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth, and from under the heavens.’”
12God has made the earth by his power. He has established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding has he stretched out the heavens.
13When he utters his voice, the waters in the heavens roar, and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings for the rain, and brings the wind out of his treasuries.
14Every man has become brutish and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is disappointed by his engraved image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
15They are vanity, a work of delusion. In the time of their visitation they will perish.
16The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the maker of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. The LORD of Armies is his name.
17Gather up your wares out of the land, you who live under siege.
18For the LORD says, “Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and will distress them, that they may feel it.”
19Woe is me because of my injury! My wound is serious; but I said, “Truly this is my grief, and I must bear it.”
20My tent has been destroyed, and all my cords are broken. My children have gone away from me, and they are no more. There is no one to spread my tent any more, to set up my curtains.
21For the shepherds have become brutish, and have not inquired of the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flocks have scattered.
22The voice of news, behold, it comes, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling place of jackals.
23LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
24LORD, correct me, but gently; not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing.
25Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, and on the families that don’t call on your name; for they have devoured Jacob. Yes, they have devoured him, consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Jeremiah 10:23This confession of human limits begins the closing prayer for God’s correction amid the threat of national ruin.
Jeremiah 10:10YHWH’s life and everlasting kingship expose the idols’ emptiness and establish his authority to judge the nations.
Jeremiah 10:12God’s power and wisdom in creation distinguish him from images fashioned by craftsmen and destined to perish.
Where this chapter reaches

Psalm, Isaiah, and Habakkuk share Jeremiah’s contrast between lifeless human-made idols and the God who rules over the earth. Genesis shares the account of God as Creator, while Proverbs shares the theme that human beings depend on God for the direction of their steps.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

How does the contrast between carried idols and the Creator challenge what you fear or trust?

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What do you notice about the request for correction after the lament over ruined homes?

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Questions people ask about Jeremiah 10

Is Jeremiah 10 talking about Christmas trees?

Jeremiah 10 describes the making of idols: wood is cut, shaped by craftsmen, decorated with precious metals, and treated as a god. The surrounding verses stress that these images cannot speak, move, or act. Christmas trees are not the subject of the passage; its target is the worship of manufactured gods.

What does Jeremiah 10:23 mean?

The verse acknowledges that human beings lack ultimate control over their course. It comes after warnings of invasion and failed leadership, and before a plea for correction. In that setting, it confesses dependence on YHWH’s rule and judgment. It does not remove human responsibility for seeking him.

Who is speaking in Jeremiah 10:19–20?

The text does not name the speaker in these verses. The ruined tent and departed children portray the devastation of Judah’s community. The voice can be understood as Judah personified or as Jeremiah voicing the people’s grief. Either reading connects the lament to the siege and scattering described around it.

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Jeremiah · 52 chapters
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What the Bible says about fear →What the Bible says about anger →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).