Jeremiah 10:2-3

10:2 The Lord says,

“Do not start following pagan religious practices. ¹ 

Do not be in awe of signs that occur ²  in the sky

even though the nations hold them in awe.

10:3 For the religion ³  of these people is worthless.

They cut down a tree in the forest,

and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools. ⁴ 

[10:2]  ¹ tn Heb “Do not learn the way of the nations.” For this use of the word “ways” (דֶּרֶךְ, derekh) compare for example Jer 12:16 and Isa 2:6.

[10:2]  ² tn Heb “signs.” The words “that occur” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:3]  ³ tn Heb “statutes.” According to BDB 350 s.v. חֻקָּה 2.b it refers to the firmly established customs or practices of the pagan nations. Compare the usage in Lev 20:23; 2 Kgs 17:8. Here it is essentially equivalent to דֶּרֶךְ (derekh) in v. 1, which has already been translated “religious practices.”

[10:3]  ⁴ sn This passage is dripping with sarcasm. It begins by talking about the “statutes” of the pagan peoples as a “vapor” using a singular copula and singular predicate. Then it suppresses the subject, the idol, as though it were too horrible to mention, using only the predications about it. The last two lines read literally: “[it is] a tree which one cuts down from the forest; the work of the hands of a craftsman with his chisel.”