“They decorate the idol with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers 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.
- BSB They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter.
- NKJV They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple.
- NLT They decorate it with gold and silver and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails so it won’t fall over.
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 bear it on their shoulder. They carry it, and set it in its place, and it stands there. It cannot move from its place. Yes, one may cry to it, yet it can not answer. It cannot save him out of his trouble.
- Isa 40:19–20A workman has cast an image, and the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts silver chains for it.
- Isa 41:6–7Everyone helps his neighbor. They say to their brothers, “Be strong!”
- Isa 44:12The blacksmith takes an ax, works in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with his strong arm. He is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water, and is faint.
- Ps 115:4Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
- Ps 135:15The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
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.