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Jeremiah 10:3

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Jeremiah 10:3 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe.
Jeremiah 10:3 — American Standard Version

Context — Jeremiah 10

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2thus saith Jehovah, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them.
3For the customs of the peoples are vanity; 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 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.
6There is none like unto thee, O Jehovah; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
← Jeremiah 10:2Jeremiah 10:4 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“For the customs of the people are vain, etc.] Or, “their decrees”, or “statutes”f207, their determinations and conclusions, founded upon the observation of the stars; or, their “rites and ceremonies”f208 in religion, in the worship of the sun and moon, and the hosts of heaven. The Syriac version is, “the idols of the people are nothing”; and which appears by what follows: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest (the work of the hands of the workman) with the axe; not for building, or for burning, but to make a god of; the vanity, stupidity, and folly of which are manifest, when it is considered that the original of it is a tree that grew in the forest; the matter and substance of it the…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The customs - Better, as the marg, “the ordinances,” established institutions, “of the peoples, i. e.” pagan nations. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“10:3 The stars are unable to predict anything—only the Lord knows the future. • A wooden idol was carved from a tree; a craftsman carved the wood until it looked something like a creature that lives on earth (Isa 40:18-20; 44:9-20).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“customs: Heb. statutes, or ordinances, are vanity, Jer 10:8, Jer 2:5; Lev 18:30; Kg1 18:26-28; Mat 6:7; Rom 1:21; Pe1 1:18 one: Isa 40:19-31, Isa 44:9-20, Isa 45:20; Hos 8:4-6; Hab 2:18, Hab 2:19 Jeremiah 10:4”
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Related study paths

Read Jeremiah 10 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification