They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter.
Parallel translations
- WEB They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it not move.
- KJV They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
- ESV They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move.
- NKJV They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple.
- NASB “They decorate the idol with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not totter.
- NLT They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
People adorn the idol with silver and gold and nail it down so it won't topple. The 'god' must be fastened in place by its makers.
Overview
The mockery continues: an idol is decorated with precious metals and secured with nails and hammers lest it fall over. A god that needs to be steadied by its worshipers is no god at all. The verse exposes the helplessness of idols and, by contrast, exalts the living God who upholds all things and needs nothing from human hands.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Isa 46:7They 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.
- Isa 40:19–20To an idol that a craftsman casts and a metalworker overlays with gold and fits with silver chains?
- Isa 41:6–7Each one helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
- Isa 44:12The blacksmith takes a tool and labors over the coals; he fashions an idol with hammers and forges it with his strong arms. Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength; he fails to drink water and grows faint.
- Ps 115:4Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- Ps 135:15The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 10:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.