Bible Strands
Jeremiah 10:3
For 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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jeremiah addresses Israel with a warning against adopting pagan practices, positioning this verse as the immediate rationale following the command to ignore foreign customs and celestial omens. The passage occurs during a prophetic indictment of Israel’s tendency to mimic surrounding nations.
The words — The Hebrew חֻקּוֹת (ḥuqqôt) refers to the established statutes or customs of the peoples, while הֶבֶל (hevel) literally denotes futility or vapor. Together with עֵץ ('etz, tree), these terms ground the verse in the physical process of carving wood before it becomes an object of worship.
The thread — The text’s dismissal of idol-making parallels Isaiah 44:9, which calls idol makers and their treasures nothing, and aligns with 1 Peter 1:18, which contrasts human redemption from perishable silver and gold. It also reinforces the Levitical boundary in Leviticus 18:30 against practicing the abominable customs of preceding nations.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to evaluate cultural practices by their material origin and spiritual emptiness rather than their craftsmanship or tradition. It demands a deliberate rejection of human-made substitutes for divine authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 44:9 All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
- 1 Peter 1:18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- Leviticus 18:30 You must keep My charge not to practice any of the abominable customs that were practiced before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.”
- Jeremiah 10:8 But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
- Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
- Isaiah 45:20 Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
- Matthew 6:7 And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard.
- 1 Kings 18:26 And they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, shouting, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered as they leaped around the altar they had made.
- Hosea 8:4 They set up kings, but not by Me. They make princes, but without My approval. With their silver and gold they make themselves idols, to their own destruction.
- Jeremiah 2:5 This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your fathers find in Me that they strayed so far from Me? They followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves.