Discovery BoxJeremiah 10:1-6
Context10:1 You people of Israel, 1 listen to what the Lord has to say to you.
10:2 The Lord says,
“Do not start following pagan religious practices. 2
Do not be in awe of signs that occur 3 in the sky
even though the nations hold them in awe.
10:3 For the religion 4 of these people is worthless.
They cut down a tree in the forest,
and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools. 5
10:4 He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold.
He uses hammer and nails to fasten it 6 together
so that it will not fall over.
10:5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field.
They cannot talk.
They must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them
because they cannot hurt you.
And they do not have any power to help you.” 7
“There is no one like you, Lord. 9
You are great.
And you are renowned for your power. 10
[10:1] 1 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
[10:2] 2 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] 3 tn Heb “signs.” The words “that occur” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[10:3] 4 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] 5 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.”
[10:4] 6 tn The pronoun is plural in Hebrew, referring to the parts.
[10:5] 7 tn Heb “And it is not in them to do good either.”
[10:6] 8 tn The words “I said” are not in the Hebrew text, but there appears to be a shift in speaker. Someone is now addressing the
[10:6] 9 tn The form that introduces this line has raised debate. The form מֵאֵין (me’en) normally means “without” and introduces a qualification of a term expressing desolation or “so that not” and introduces a negative result (cf. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b). Neither of these nuances fit either this verse or the occurrence in v. 7. BDB 35 s.v. II אַיִן 6.b.γ notes that some have explained this as a strengthened form of אַיִן (’ayin) which occurs in a similar phrase five other times (cf., e.g., 1 Kgs 8:23). Though many including BDB question the validity of this solution it is probably better than the suggestion that BDB gives of repointing to מֵאַיִן (me’ayin, “whence”), which scarcely fits the context of v. 7, or the solution of HALOT 41 s.v. I אַיִן, which suggests that the מ (mem) is a double writing (dittograph) of the final consonant from the preceding word. That would assume that the scribe made the same error twice or was influenced the second time by the first erroneous writing.
