Bible Strands
Jeremiah 51:17
Every 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah pronounces judgment against Babylon while contrasting Yahweh's sovereign control over the heavens and earth with the powerlessness of foreign gods. The oracle addresses the universal folly of humanity and the specific disgrace awaiting those who craft and trust in idols.
The words — The Hebrew נִבְעַר (nivʿar) means to be senseless or devoid of understanding, and הֹבִישׁ (hobish) means to be put to shame or confounded. These terms directly describe the goldsmith's craft as fundamentally futile and exposed.
The thread — The identical formula appears in Jeremiah 10:14, which repeats the claim that every person lacks knowledge and every metalsmith is shamed by his idols. The same theme of idolatrous deception and impending divine punishment runs through Habakkuk 2:18 and Psalm 14:2.
Why it lands — The text declares that crafted images contain no breath or life, while human wisdom and labor cannot produce true divinity. Interpreters infer that this exposes the complete dependence of idolaters on their own deception and calls for exclusive trust in the Creator who commands natural forces.
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
Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 10:14 Every 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.
- Habakkuk 2:18 What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
- Psalms 14:2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.
- Isaiah 44:18 They do not comprehend or discern, for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand.
- Jeremiah 50:2 “Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’
- Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.
- 1 Corinthians 1:19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
- Psalms 53:1 For the choirmaster. According to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their ways are vile. There is no one who does good.
- Psalms 115:5 They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
- Psalms 115:8 Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them.