Jeremiah 10:12

"He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens. When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries. Every man is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name."

"Who made ... established ... stretched out ..." (Jeremiah 10:12) The three things that entered into the Creator's preparing a home for his human creation are listed here: (1) he made the earth; (2) he prepared and fitted it to be a human dwelling place; and (3) he protected it from cosmic damage by such things as excessive radiation and falling meteorites, stretching out the heavens (the atmospheric shield) as a protection.

"He maketh lightnings for the rain ..." (Jeremiah 10:13). "Every thunderstorm bears witness to the wise and almighty government of God."[22]

"Every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image ..." (Jeremiah 10:14) Any person who can see the violent strength of a tropical thunderstorm and then bow down and worship a lifeless image, a production of his own hands, as god (!) has simply forsaken all intelligence.

Such images (notice the change from the singular "image" to the plural "them" in Jeremiah 10:14, as frequently in the Bible) are worthless, having "no breath" in them.

Jeremiah 10:15-16 stress the fact that graven images are entitled to no respect at all but are worthy only of contempt. The glorious God of Jacob, the true and almighty living God who created the heavens and the earth is contrasted with the idols in Jeremiah 10:16.

The parenthetical admonition concerning idols (Jeremiah 10:1-16) ends here; and Jeremiah returns to the approaching captivity.