Discovery BoxJeremiah 10:9
Context10:9 Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish 1
and gold is brought from Uphaz 2 to cover those idols. 3
They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths. 4
They are clothed in blue and purple clothes. 5
They are all made by skillful workers. 6
Jeremiah 10:15
Context10:15 They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked. 7
When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.
Jeremiah 51:18
Context51:18 They are worthless, objects to be ridiculed.
When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.
Jeremiah 51:10
Context51:10 The exiles from Judah will say, 8
‘The Lord has brought about a great deliverance for us! 9
Come on, let’s go and proclaim in Zion
what the Lord our God has done!’
Jeremiah 10:3
Context10:3 For the religion 10 of these people is worthless.
They cut down a tree in the forest,
and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools. 11
[10:9] 1 tc Two Qumran scrolls of Jeremiah (4QJera and 4QJerb) 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, 4QJera, 4QJerb 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 4QJera both have all nine verses, while LXX and 4QJerb 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 4QJerb. The translation here follows MT which is supported by 4QJera.
[10:9] 2 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] 3 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] 4 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] 5 tn Heb “Blue and purple their clothing.”
[10:9] 6 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] 7 tn Or “objects of mockery.”
[51:10] 13 tn The words “The exiles from Judah will say” are not in the text but are implicit from the words that follow. They are supplied in the translation to clearly identify for the reader the referent of “us.”
[51:10] 14 tn There is some difference of opinion as to the best way to render the Hebrew expression here. Literally it means “brought forth our righteousnesses.” BDB 842 s.v. צְדָקָה 7.b interprets this of the “righteous acts” of the people of Judah and compares the usage in Isa 64:6; Ezek 3:20; 18:24; 33:13. However, Judah’s acts of righteousness (or more simply, their righteousness) was scarcely revealed in their deliverance. Most of the English versions and commentaries refer to “vindication” i.e., that the
[10:3] 19 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] 20 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.”
