Jeremiah 10:8
New International Version
They are all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols.

New Living Translation
People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood!

English Standard Version
They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!

Berean Standard Bible
But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!

King James Bible
But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.

New King James Version
But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.

New American Standard Bible
But they are altogether stupid and foolish; The instruction from idols is nothing but wood!

NASB 1995
But they are altogether stupid and foolish In their discipline of delusion— their idol is wood!

NASB 1977
But they are altogether stupid and foolish In their discipline of delusion—their idol is wood!

Legacy Standard Bible
But they are altogether senseless and foolish; They are in a discipline of vanities—it is mere wood!

Amplified Bible
But they are altogether irrational and stupid and foolish In their discipline of delusion—their idol is [only] wood [it is ridiculous, empty and worthless]!

Christian Standard Bible
They are both stupid and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They are both stupid and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!

American Standard Version
But they are together brutish and foolish: the instruction of idols! it is but a stock.

Contemporary English Version
Idols are worthless, and anyone who worships them is a fool!

English Revised Version
But they are together brutish and foolish: the instruction of idols, it is but a stock.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They are complete idiots. They learn nonsense from wooden idols.

Good News Translation
All of them are stupid and foolish. What can they learn from wooden idols?

International Standard Version
Everyone is stupid and senseless. They follow worthless instruction from a piece of wood!

Majority Standard Bible
But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!

NET Bible
The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless!

New Heart English Bible
But they are together brutish and foolish, the instruction of idols. It is but wood.

Webster's Bible Translation
But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.

World English Bible
But they are together brutish and foolish, instructed by idols! It is just wood.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And as one they are brutish and foolish, "" An instruction of vanities [is] the tree itself.

Young's Literal Translation
And in one they are brutish and foolish, An instruction of vanities is the tree itself.

Smith's Literal Translation
And in one they will become brutish, and they will be foolish: the tree itself a correction of vanities.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
They shall all proved together to be senseless and foolish: the doctrine of their vanity is wood.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Together, they will all be proven to be unwise and foolish. The doctrine of their vanity is made of wood.

New American Bible
One and all they are stupid and senseless, the instruction from nonentities—only wood!

New Revised Standard Version
They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction given by idols is no better than wood!
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
But altogether the vain doctrines of wooden image worship shall be utterly destroyed and consumed.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And together they shall be destroyed, and worthless teachings of worshiped things of wood shall cease
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
But they are altogether brutish and foolish: The vanities by which they are instructed are but a stock;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Sovereignty of God
7Who would not fear You, O King of nations? This is Your due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. 8But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood! 9Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.…

Cross References
Isaiah 44:18-20
They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand. / And no one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, and I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?” / He feeds on ashes. His deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

Psalm 115:4-8
Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. / They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; / they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; ...

Isaiah 46:7-8
They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles. / Remember this and be brave; take it to heart, you transgressors!

1 Corinthians 1:20-25
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? / For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. / Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, ...

Romans 1:21-23
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. / Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, / and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Isaiah 41:29
See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind.

Habakkuk 2:18-19
What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. / Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”

1 Corinthians 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

Isaiah 40:18-20
To whom will you liken God? To what image will you compare Him? / To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains? / One lacking such an offering chooses wood that will not rot. He seeks a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.

Psalm 135:15-18
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. / They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; / they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths. ...

Isaiah 45:20
Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.

1 Corinthians 8:4-6
So about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world, and that there is no God but one. / For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), / yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.

Deuteronomy 4:28
And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

Acts 17:29-30
Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination. / Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.

Isaiah 2:8
Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.


Treasury of Scripture

But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.

altogether.

Jeremiah 10:14
Every 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.

Jeremiah 51:17,18
Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them…

Psalm 115:8
They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.

the stock.

Jeremiah 2:17
Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?

Isaiah 44:19
And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?

Hosea 4:12
My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.

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Altogether Beasts Brutish Discipline Doctrine False. Foolish Gods Idol Idols Instructed Instruction Itself Senseless Stock Stupid Taught Teaching Together Tree Vanities Wood Wooden Worthless
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Jeremiah 10
1. The unequal comparison of God and idols.
17. The prophet exhorts to flee from the calamity to come.
19. He laments the spoil of the tabernacle by foolish pastors.
23. He makes an humble supplication.














But they are altogether senseless and foolish
This phrase highlights the spiritual and intellectual state of those who turn away from God to follow idols. The Hebrew word for "senseless" is "ba'ar," which can also mean brutish or lacking understanding. This suggests a regression to a more primitive state, devoid of the wisdom that comes from God. "Foolish" is translated from "kesil," often used in Proverbs to describe someone who despises wisdom and instruction. In a historical context, this reflects the Israelites' tendency to adopt the idolatrous practices of surrounding nations, despite having the revelation of the one true God. The phrase serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of abandoning divine wisdom for human folly.

instructed by worthless idols
The word "instructed" implies that these idols, though lifeless, are perceived as sources of guidance. The Hebrew term "musar" often refers to discipline or correction, which is ironic here, as these idols offer no true wisdom or correction. "Worthless" is translated from "hebel," meaning vapor or breath, symbolizing something transient and insubstantial. This is a powerful metaphor for the futility of idol worship. Historically, the Israelites were surrounded by nations that worshipped idols, and this phrase underscores the absurdity of seeking instruction from objects that have no life or power. It challenges believers to seek guidance from the living God, who alone offers true wisdom and understanding.

made of wood
This phrase emphasizes the material composition of the idols, highlighting their earthly and perishable nature. The Hebrew word "ets" simply means wood, a common material for crafting idols in ancient times. This underscores the absurdity of worshipping something that is crafted by human hands from a common, decaying material. Archaeological findings have uncovered numerous wooden idols from ancient Near Eastern cultures, confirming the prevalence of this practice. Theologically, this serves as a reminder of the Creator-creature distinction; God is the eternal Creator, while idols are mere creations of human hands. This calls believers to worship the Creator rather than the creation, aligning with the biblical theme of God's supremacy over all things.

(8) Altogether.--Literally, in one, probably in the sense in one word, in one fact, sc., that which follows in the next clause.

The stock is a doctrine of vanities.--Better, inverting the subject and predicate, the teaching of vanities (i.e., of idols) is a word, or is a log. That is all it comes to; that one word is its condemnation.

Verse 8. - Brutish and foolish. In fact, the original meaning of the idolatrous religions had begun, probably, to fade, and the worship of Bel and Nebo had become (as the worship of the Egyptian gods became at a later period) increasingly formal and ritualistic. The stock is a doctrine of vanities; rather, an instruction of vanities; i.e. all that the idols can teach is vanities. Against this is the plural ("vanities," not vanity); it is more natural (and also more in accordance with usage; comp. Genesis 41:26, Hebrew) to render, the instruction of the vanities is wooden ("vanities" has the constant technical sense of "idols;" see Jeremiah 8:19; Jeremiah 14:22; Deuteronomy 32:21; Psalm 31:6). The clause then furnishes a reason for the folly of the heathen; how should they attain to more than a "wooden" knowledge, when the idols themselves are but wood? A bitter truth in an ironical form.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But they are altogether
וּבְאַחַ֖ת (ū·ḇə·’a·ḥaṯ)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Number - feminine singular
Strong's 259: United, one, first

senseless
יִבְעֲר֣וּ (yiḇ·‘ă·rū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1197: To kindle, consume, to be, brutish

and foolish,
וְיִכְסָ֑לוּ (wə·yiḵ·sā·lū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3688: To be or become stupid

instructed
מוּסַ֥ר (mū·sar)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4148: Chastisement, reproof, warning, instruction, restraint

by worthless idols
הֲבָלִ֖ים (hă·ḇā·lîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1892: Emptiness, vanity, transitory, unsatisfactory

made of wood!
עֵ֥ץ (‘êṣ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood


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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 10:8 But they are together brutish and foolish: (Jer.)
Jeremiah 10:7
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