Jeremiah 10:5 NIV

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Jeremiah 10:3-5

Jeremiah 10:3-5. One cutteth down a tree, &c. The prophet here exposes the folly of men’s worshipping the work of their own hands, by arguments similar to those which are used by Isaiah 44:10-20; where see the notes. They are upright, &c. They are like the trunk of the palm-tree Houb. “They are inflexible, immoveable, fixed, without action or motion, like the trunk of a tree: a comparison which admirably suits the ancient statues seen in Egypt and elsewhere, before the art of... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 10:1-16

Knowledge of the only true God (9:23-10:16)People may have knowledge, power and wealth, but these are no substitute for a true understanding and knowledge of God (23-24). The Judeans may have been circumcised as a sign that they are the covenant people of God, but in their hearts they have not been true to God or the covenant. They might as well be uncircumcised like their heathen neighbours. Israel’s rite of circumcision is no more beneficial to disobedient people than the heathen rite of... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Jeremiah 10:5

upright = stiff. borne = carried. read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Jeremiah 10:5

Jeremiah 10:5. They are upright, &c.— For they are like the trunk of the palm-tree, &c. Houb. "They are inflexible, immoveable, fixed, without action or motion, like the trunk of a palm-tree;" a comparison which admirably suits the ancient statues seen in Egypt and elsewhere, before the art of sculpture attained the perfection which it afterwards did in Greece. See Calmet. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 10:5

5. upright—or, "They are of turned work, resembling a palm tree" [MAURER]. The point of comparison between the idol and the palm is in the pillar-like uprightness of the latter, it having no branches except at the top. speak not— ( :-). cannot go—that is, walk (Psalms 115:7; Isaiah 46:1; Isaiah 46:7). neither . . . do good— (Isaiah 41:23). read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Jeremiah 10:1-16

A satire on idolatry 10:1-16This scathing exposé of the folly of idolatry resembles several polemics in Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 40:18-20; Isaiah 41:6-7; Isaiah 44:9-20; Isaiah 46:5-7). Jeremiah 10:12-16 appear again in Jeremiah 51:15-19."Why did so easy a target as idolatry need so many attacks in the Old Testament? Jeremiah 10:9 suggests one reason: the appeal of the visually impressive; but perhaps Jeremiah 10:2 goes deeper, in pointing to the temptation to fall into step with the majority."... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Jeremiah 10:4-25

Incorrigible Judah 8:4-10:25The twin themes of Judah’s stubborn rebellion and her inevitable doom tie this section of miscellaneous messages together. The section contains mostly poetic material, and the prophecies bear the marks of Jehoiakim’s early reign (perhaps shortly after 609 B.C.). read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Jeremiah 10:5

These idols were similar to scarecrows, whose only power is to frighten birds. They did not speak to command, counsel, or comfort their worshippers. They could not walk to come to the aid of their devotees. People had to carry them; they were burdens to be borne rather than bearers of their suppliants’ burdens. God’s people should not fear them because they do neither harm nor good. They are "do-nothing" gods. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 10:1-25

1-16. The folly of idolatry.This section of the prophecy is of doubtful authorship. For (a) it introduces a break in the sense; (b) there is less smoothness between the parts than we generally find in Jeremiah’s writings; (c) its language differs considerably from his use elsewhere, and closely resembles that of Isaiah 40-44; (d) the writer emphasises the fact that false gods are incapable of hurting, while Jeremiah elsewhere speaks rather of them as powerless to aid; (e) Isaiah 44:2, Isaiah... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Jeremiah 10:5

(5) Upright as the palm tree.—Better, perhaps, A pillar in a garden of gourds are they. The Hebrew word translated “upright” has two very different, though not entirely unconnected, meanings—(1) “twisted, rounded, carved,” and in this sense it is translated commonly as “beaten work” (Exodus 25:18; Exodus 25:31; Exodus 25:36), and is here applied (if we accept this meaning) to the twisted palm-like columns of a temple, to which the stiff, formal figure of the idol, with arms pressed close to the... read more

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Jeremiah 10:3-5

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 10:1-16

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Jeremiah 10:5

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Jeremiah 10:5

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 10:5

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Jeremiah 10:1-16

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Jeremiah 10:4-25

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Jeremiah 10:5

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 10:1-25

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Jeremiah 10:5

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