Chapter Text
The Folly of Idolatry
Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
5They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
6Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
7Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.
8But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.
9Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.
10But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
11Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
12He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
13When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
14Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
15They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
16The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
Coming Destruction
17Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
18For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that they may find it so.
19Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
20My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
21For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
22Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.
23O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
24O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
25Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.
Summary
Jeremiah finds that the word of the Lord is a reproach to the people, and they take no delight in it. God's wrath shall be poured out upon all ages, from children to the aged. Houses, fields, and wives shall be given to others.
From the least to the greatest, everyone is greedy for gain. Prophets and priests deal falsely, healing the wound of God's people lightly by crying "Peace, peace" when there is no peace. They are not ashamed of their abominations and shall fall among those who fall.
Meaning
The false cry of "Peace, peace, when there is no peace" stands as one of Scripture's most penetrating warnings against superficial religion. Treating deep spiritual wounds with shallow assurances is spiritual malpractice of the worst kind.
The refusal to be ashamed reveals a seared conscience, the final stage of moral decline. When a people can no longer blush at sin, they have lost the capacity for repentance. Jeremiah's personal anguish at being rejected shows the cost of faithful prophetic ministry.
Background
The phrase "Peace, peace" became emblematic of false prophecy throughout biblical literature. The false prophets of Jeremiah's day functioned as court chaplains who told the king what he wanted to hear.
The transfer of houses, fields, and wives to others reflects the covenant curses of Deuteronomy 28, which warned of such losses as consequences of disobedience.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-5Do not learn the way of the heathen
- vv. 6-10None like the true and living God
- vv. 11-16Idols perish; the Portion of Jacob endures
- vv. 17-18Pack up: exile is at hand
- vv. 19-22The prophet's lament over the broken tent
- vv. 23-25A prayer for measured correction
Key Verses
“But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.”— 10:10
A foundational confession of Yahweh's uniqueness against idols — one of the clearest Old Testament declarations that the LORD alone is the true and living God, sovereign over all nations.
“O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.”— 10:23
A famous wisdom saying frequently quoted to express human dependence on divine guidance, echoing Proverbs 16:9 and undergirding the doctrine of providence.
“He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.”— 10:12
A creation hymn fragment also repeated in Jeremiah 51:15, affirming God as Creator in contrast to lifeless idols fashioned by human hands.
“Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.”— 10:7
Echoed in Revelation 15:4 in the song of Moses and the Lamb, this verse proclaims Yahweh as King over the Gentiles, not merely the God of Israel.
People & Places
People
- Jacob — The patriarch whose name represents the covenant people Israel, here called God's inheritance.
- Jeremiah — The weeping prophet voicing both the LORD's oracle against idols and his own lament over Judah's coming ruin.
Places
- Tarshish — A distant western trading port, likely in Spain, famed as a source of refined silver.
- Uphaz — An obscure region known for fine gold, used to adorn the idols Jeremiah mocks.
- Judah — The southern kingdom whose cities are about to be made desolate by an invader from the north.
- the north country — The direction from which Babylon, the instrument of judgment, will descend upon Judah.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
Verses 17-22 foretell the imminent Babylonian invasion from the north that would sling the inhabitants out of the land, fulfilled in the deportations of 597 and 586 B.C. Verse 7's vision of the LORD as King of nations is taken up in Revelation 15:4, where the redeemed sing that all nations shall come and worship before him. The polemic against idols in verses 1-16 anticipates the eschatological perishing of false gods promised in verse 11, the only verse in the book written in Aramaic.
Devotional
Jeremiah confronts a temptation as old as humanity and as current as today: trusting things we ourselves have made. The idols he mocks are silver-plated and well-dressed, yet they cannot speak, walk, or save. Whatever we craft to give us security — wealth, reputation, technology — shares the same silence.
Verse 23 anchors the chapter's hope. We do not direct our own steps, and that is mercy, not bondage. To pray "correct me, but with judgment, not in thine anger" is to entrust ourselves to a Father whose discipline is measured and whose love is everlasting.
Literary Style
Prophetic oracle interwoven with hymnic poetry, satire, and lament. The chapter alternates biting polemic against idolatry (vv. 1-16) with a dirge over Judah's coming exile (vv. 17-22) and a closing penitential prayer. Verse 11 is uniquely composed in Aramaic.