Jeremiah 10:5
They 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.
Jeremiah 10:5 in other translations
| BSB | Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.” |
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| WEB | They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and don’t speak. They must be carried, because they can’t move. Don’t be afraid of them; for they can’t do evil, neither is it in them to do good.” |
| ASV | They are like a palm-tree, of turned work, and speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good. |
| YLT | As a palm they are stiff, and they speak not, They are surely borne, for they step not, Be not afraid of them, for they do no evil, Yea, also to do good is not in them. |
| DARBY | They are as a palm-column of turned work, and they speak not; they are carried, for they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. |
| BBE | It is like a pillar in a garden of plants, and has no voice: it has to be lifted, for it has no power of walking. Have no fear of it; for it has no power of doing evil and it is not able to do any good. |
| Webster | They 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. |
What does Jeremiah 10:5 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 10:1-16
The absurdity of idolatry. (Jr 10:1-16) Destruction denounced against Jerusalem. (Jr 10:17-25) Verses 1-16 The prophet shows the glory of Israel's God, and exposes the folly of idolaters. Charms and other attempts to obtain supernatural help, or to pry into futurity, are copied from the wicked customs of the heathen. Let us stand in awe, and not dare provoke God, by giving that glory to another which is due to him…
Jeremiah 10:5 in the original Hebrew
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Cross references for Jeremiah 10:5
- Isaiah 46:7
They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove: yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.
- 1 Corinthians 12:2
Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
- Psalms 115:5-8
They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
- Isaiah 41:23-24
Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4
As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
- Habakkuk 2:19
Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
- Psalms 135:16-18
They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.
- Isaiah 46:1
Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast.
- Revelation 13:14-15
And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
- Isaiah 44:9-10
They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?
- Isaiah 45:20
Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- Jeremiah 10:4
They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
- Jeremiah 10:5
They 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.
- Jeremiah 10:6
Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
Jeremiah 10:5 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Como palma lo igualan, y no hablan; son llevados, porque no pueden andar. No tengáis temor de ellos; porque ni pueden hacer mal, ni para hacer bien tienen poder. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Ils sont comme une colonne faite au tour: ils ne parlent point; on les porte, car ils ne marchent pas. Ne les craignez pas, car ils ne peuvent pas faire du mal, et aussi il n’est pas en leur pouvoir de faire du bien. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | sie sind wie eine gedrechselte Säule und reden nicht; sie werden getragen, denn sie gehen nicht. Fürchtet euch nicht vor ihnen; denn sie können nichts Böses tun, und Gutes zu tun steht auch nicht bei ihnen. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | in similitudinem palmæ fabricata sunt, et non loquentur: portata tollentur, quia incedere non valent. Nolite ergo timere ea, quia nec male possunt facere, nec bene. |