Jeremiah 10:8-9

10:8 The people of those nations ¹  are both stupid and foolish.

Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless! ² 

10:9 Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish ³ 

and gold is brought from Uphaz ⁴  to cover those idols. ⁵ 

They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths. ⁶ 

They are clothed in blue and purple clothes. ⁷ 

They are all made by skillful workers. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 10:15

10:15 They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked. ⁹ 

When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.

Jeremiah 51:17

51:17 All idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant.

Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made.

For the image he forges is merely a sham.

There is no breath in any of those idols.

Isaiah 2:8

2:8 Their land is full of worthless idols;

they worship ¹⁰  the product of their own hands,

what their own fingers have fashioned.

Isaiah 37:19

37:19 They have burned the gods of the nations, ¹¹  for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. ¹² 

Isaiah 44:15

44:15 A man uses it to make a fire; ¹³ 

he takes some of it and warms himself.

Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

Then he makes a god and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it. ¹⁴ 

Hosea 8:6

8:6 That idol was made by a workman – it is not God!

The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.

Acts 7:41

7:41 At ¹⁵  that time ¹⁶  they made an idol in the form of a calf, ¹⁷  brought ¹⁸  a sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing ¹⁹  in the works of their hands. ²⁰ 

[10:8]  ¹ tn Or “Those wise people and kings are…” It is unclear whether the subject is the “they” of the nations in the preceding verse, or the wise people and kings referred to. The text merely has “they.”

[10:8]  ² tn Heb “The instruction of vanities [worthless idols] is wood.” The meaning of this line is a little uncertain. Various proposals have been made to make sense, most of which involve radical emendation of the text. For some examples see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 323-24, fn 6. However, this is probably a case of the bold predication that discussed in GKC 452 §141.d, some examples of which may be seen in Ps 109:4 “I am prayer,” and Ps 120:7 “I am peace.”

[10:9]  ³ tc Two Qumran scrolls of Jeremiah (4QJer^a and 4QJer^b) reflect a Hebrew text that is very different than the traditional MT from which modern Bibles have been translated. The Hebrew text in these two manuscripts is similar to that from which LXX was translated. This is true both in small details and in major aspects where the LXX differs from MT. Most notably, 4QJer^a, 4QJer^b and LXX present a version of Jeremiah about 13% shorter than the longer version found in MT. One example of this shorter text is Jer 10:3-11 in which MT and 4QJer^a both have all nine verses, while LXX and 4QJer^b both lack vv. 6-8 and 10, which extol the greatness of God. In addition, the latter part of v. 9 is arranged differently in LXX and 4QJer^b. The translation here follows MT which is supported by 4QJer^a.

[10:9]  ⁴ tn This is a place of unknown location. It is mentioned again in Dan 10:5. Many emend the word to “Ophir” following the Syriac version and the Aramaic Targum. Ophir was famous for its gold (cf. 1 Kgs 9:28; Job 28:16).

[10:9]  ⁵ tn The words “to cover those idols” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:9]  ⁶ tn The words “They are” are not in the text. The text reads merely, “the work of the carpenter and of the hands of the goldsmith.” The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “Blue and purple their clothing.”

[10:9]  ⁸ sn There is an ironic pun in this last line. The Hebrew word translated “skillful workers” is the same word that is translated “wise people” in v. 7. The artisans do their work skillfully but they are not “wise.”

[10:15]  ⁹ tn Or “objects of mockery.”

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “bow down to” (NIV, NRSV).

[37:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”

[37:19]  ¹² tn Heb “so they destroyed them” (NASB similar).

[44:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “and it becomes burning [i.e., firewood] for a man”; NAB “to serve man for fuel.”

[44:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps, “them.”

[7:41]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[7:41]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “In those days.”

[7:41]  ¹⁷ tn Or “a bull calf” (see Exod 32:4-6). The term μοσχοποιέω (moscopoiew) occurs only in Christian writings according to BDAG 660 s.v.

[7:41]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and brought,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[7:41]  ¹⁹ tn The imperfect verb εὐφραίνοντο (eufrainonto) has been translated ingressively. See BDAG 414-15 s.v. εὐφραίνω 2.

[7:41]  ²⁰ tn Or “in what they had done.”