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Jeremiah 10

Jeremiah 10 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Jeremiah 10 calls God's people away from fear and false worship. It sets the living LORD against lifeless idols, then turns to the coming judgment on Judah. The chapter ends with a humble prayer for correction and justice, showing how to respond when God's word exposes both sin and need.

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What happens in Jeremiah 10?

The chapter begins by warning Israel not to copy the nations or fear their signs. It ridicules idols made by human hands, then celebrates the LORD as the only true and living God, the Maker of heaven and earth. After this clear contrast, the tone shifts to the coming collapse of Judah. The people are told to prepare for exile and disaster from the north. The chapter closes with grief, confession that human steps are not self-directed, and a plea for God to correct with justice rather than wrath.

Jeremiah 10 sits in a section where Judah is being confronted for idolatry, false security, and refusal to listen. It follows Jeremiah 9s lament over the nation's sin and moves toward warnings that the coming judgment is not far off. The chapter combines teaching, warning, and prayer, which is common in Jeremiah's message to a stubborn people.

Themes to notice

  • God over idolsThe chapter draws a sharp line between the living LORD and man-made images that cannot help or harm.
  • Judgment on JudahJeremiah announces that the land will face siege, scattering, and exile because of sin.
  • Humility before GodThe closing prayer admits human limits and asks for correction with justice, not destructive anger.

Questions for Jeremiah 10

  • What does this chapter teach about the difference between the LORD and idols?
  • How does Jeremiah describe the coming trouble for Judah, and why is it happening?
  • What does the final prayer show about the right response to God's discipline?

Read the full text of Jeremiah 10 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Jeremiah 10

The Sovereignty of God

1Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.

2This is what the LORD says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nations

or be terrified by the signs in the heavens,

though the nations themselves are terrified by them.

3For the customs of the peoples are worthless;

they cut down a tree from the forest;

it is shaped with a chisel

by the hands of a craftsman.

4They adorn it with silver and gold

and fasten it with hammer and nails,

so that it will not totter.

5Like 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.”

6There is none like You, O LORD.

You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.

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.

10But the LORD is the true God;

He is the living God and eternal King.

The earth quakes at His wrath,

and the nations cannot endure His indignation.

11Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”

12The LORD made the earth by His power;

He established the world by His wisdom

and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

13When He thunders,

the waters in the heavens roar;

He causes the clouds to rise

from the ends of the earth.

He generates the lightning with the rain

and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

14Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge;

every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols.

For his molten images are a fraud,

and there is no breath in them.

15They are worthless, a work to be mocked.

In the time of their punishment they will perish.

16The Portion of Jacob is not like these,

for He is the Maker of all things,

and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—

the LORD of Hosts is His name.

The Coming Captivity of Judah

17Gather up your belongings from this land, you who live under siege.

18For this is what the LORD says:

“Behold, at this time I will sling out

the inhabitants of the land

and bring distress upon them

so that they may be captured.”

19Woe to me because of my brokenness;

my wound is grievous!

But I said, “This is truly my sickness,

and I must bear it.”

20My tent is destroyed,

and all its ropes are snapped.

My sons have departed from me

and are no more.

I have no one left to pitch my tent

or set up my curtains.

21For the shepherds have become senseless;

they do not seek the LORD.

Therefore they have not prospered,

and all their flock is scattered.

22Listen! The sound of a report is coming—

a great commotion from the land to the north.

The cities of Judah will be made a desolation,

a haunt for jackals.

23I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own;

no one who walks directs his own steps.

24Correct me, O LORD,

but only with justice—

not in Your anger,

or You will bring me to nothing.

25Pour out Your wrath on the nations

that do not acknowledge You,

and on the families

that do not call on Your name.

For they have devoured Jacob;

they have consumed him and finished him off;

they have devastated his homeland.

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