Jeremiah 10:3

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

For the religion of these people is worthless. They cut down a tree in the forest, and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools.

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Isa 44:9-9 : 9 All who form idols are nothing; the things in which they delight are worthless. Their witnesses cannot see; they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame. 10 Who forms a god and casts an idol that will prove worthless? 11 Look, all his associates will be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere humans. Let them all assemble and take their stand! They will panic and be put to shame. 12 A blacksmith works with his tool and forges metal over the coals. He forms it with hammers; he makes it with his strong arm. He gets hungry and loses his energy; he drinks no water and gets tired. 13 A carpenter takes measurements; he marks out an outline of its form; he scrapes it with chisels, and marks it with a compass. He patterns it after the human form, like a well-built human being, and puts it in a shrine. 14 He cuts down cedars and acquires a cypress or an oak. He gets trees from the forest; he plants a cedar and the rain makes it grow. 15 A man uses it to make a fire; he takes some of it and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire– over that half he cooks meat; he roasts a meal and fills himself. Yes, he warms himself and says,‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’ 17 With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships it. He prays to it, saying,‘Rescue me, for you are my god!’ 18 They do not comprehend or understand, for their eyes are blind and cannot see; their minds do not discern. 19 No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:‘I burned half of it in the fire– yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?’ 20 He feeds on ashes; his deceived mind misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say,‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’
  • Isa 45:20 : 20 Gather together and come! Approach together, you refugees from the nations! Those who carry wooden idols know nothing, those who pray to a god that cannot deliver.
  • Jer 2:5 : 5 This is what the Lord says:“What fault could your ancestors have possibly found in me that they strayed so far from me? They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to me.
  • Jer 10:8 : 8 The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless!
  • Hos 8:4-6 : 4 The Political and Cultic Sin of Israel They enthroned kings without my consent! They appointed princes without my approval! They made idols out of their silver and gold, but they will be destroyed! 5 O Samaria, he has rejected your calf idol! My anger burns against them! They will not survive much longer without being punished, even though they are Israelites! 6 That idol was made by a workman– it is not God! The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.
  • Hab 2:18-19 : 18 What good is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? Why would its creator place his trust in it and make such mute, worthless things? 19 Woe to the one who says to wood,‘Wake up!’– he who says to speechless stone,‘Awake!’ Can it give reliable guidance? It is overlaid with gold and silver; it has no life’s breath inside it.
  • Matt 6:7 : 7 When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard.
  • Rom 1:21 : 21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.
  • 1 Pet 1:18 : 18 You know that from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors you were ransomed– not by perishable things like silver or gold,
  • Lev 18:30 : 30 You must obey my charge not to practice any of the abominable statutes that have been done before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the LORD your God.’”
  • 1 Kgs 18:26-28 : 26 So they took a bull, as he had suggested, and prepared it. They invoked the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying,“Baal, answer us.” But there was no sound and no answer. They jumped around on the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah mocked them,“Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.” 28 So they yelled louder and, in accordance with their prescribed ritual, mutilated themselves with swords and spears until their bodies were covered with blood.
  • Isa 40:19-31 : 19 A craftsman casts an idol; a metalsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains for it. 20 To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; he then seeks a skilled craftsman to make an idol that will not fall over. 21 Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you since the very beginning? Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made? 22 He is the one who sits on the earth’s horizon; its inhabitants are like grasshoppers before him. He is the one who stretches out the sky like a thin curtain, and spreads it out like a pitched tent. 23 He is the one who reduces rulers to nothing; he makes the earth’s leaders insignificant. 24 Indeed, they are barely planted; yes, they are barely sown; yes, they barely take root in the earth, and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up, and the wind carries them away like straw. 25 “To whom can you compare me? Whom do I resemble?” says the Holy One. 26 Look up at the sky! Who created all these heavenly lights? He is the one who leads out their ranks; he calls them all by name. Because of his absolute power and awesome strength, not one of them is missing. 27 Why do you say, Jacob, Why do you say, Israel,“The LORD is not aware of what is happening to me, My God is not concerned with my vindication”? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is an eternal God, the Creator of the whole earth. He does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to his wisdom. 29 He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy. 30 Even youths get tired and weary; even strong young men clumsily stumble. 31 But those who wait for the LORD’s help find renewed strength; they rise up as if they had eagles’ wings, they run without growing weary, they walk without getting tired.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Jer 10:4
    81%

    4He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold. He uses hammer and nails to fasten it together so that it will not fall over.

  • Jer 10:2
    78%

    2The LORD says,“Do not start following pagan religious practices. Do not be in awe of signs that occur in the sky even though the nations hold them in awe.

  • Jer 10:8
    75%

    8The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless!

  • Isa 40:19-20
    2 verses
    75%

    19A craftsman casts an idol; a metalsmith overlays it with gold and forges silver chains for it.

    20To make a contribution one selects wood that will not rot; he then seeks a skilled craftsman to make an idol that will not fall over.

  • Isa 44:14-15
    2 verses
    75%

    14He cuts down cedars and acquires a cypress or an oak. He gets trees from the forest; he plants a cedar and the rain makes it grow.

    15A man uses it to make a fire; he takes some of it and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.

  • Ezek 15:2-3
    2 verses
    74%

    2“Son of man, of all the woody branches among the trees of the forest, what happens to the wood of the vine?

    3Can wood be taken from it to make anything useful? Or can anyone make a peg from it to hang things on?

  • Isa 10:15
    74%

    15Does an ax exalt itself over the one who wields it, or a saw magnify itself over the one who cuts with it? As if a scepter should brandish the one who raises it, or a staff should lift up what is not made of wood!

  • Ps 135:15
    72%

    15The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold, they are man-made.

  • Ps 74:5-6
    2 verses
    72%

    5They invade like lumberjacks swinging their axes in a thick forest.

    6And now they are tearing down all its engravings with axes and crowbars.

  • Isa 2:8
    72%

    8Their land is full of worthless idols; they worship the product of their own hands, what their own fingers have fashioned.

  • Isa 17:8
    72%

    8They will no longer trust in the altars their hands made, or depend on the Asherah poles and incense altars their fingers made.

  • Jer 10:14-15
    2 verses
    71%

    14All these idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.

    15They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked. When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.

  • 2 Kgs 17:10
    71%

    10They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.

  • Isa 1:29
    71%

    29Indeed, they will be ashamed of the sacred trees you find so desirable; you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards where you choose to worship.

  • Luke 3:9
    71%

    9Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

  • Ezek 20:32
    71%

    32“‘What you plan will never happen. You say,“We will be like the nations, like the clans of the lands, who serve gods of wood and stone.”

  • Matt 3:10
    71%

    10Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

  • Isa 27:11
    71%

    11When its branches get brittle, they break; women come and use them for kindling. For these people lack understanding, therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them; the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

  • Hos 10:1
    70%

    1Israel is Guilty of Fertility Cult Worship Israel was a fertile vine that yielded fruit. As his fruit multiplied, he multiplied altars to Baal. As his land prospered, they adorned the fertility pillars.

  • Ezek 31:14
    70%

    14For this reason no watered trees will grow so tall; their tops will not reach into the clouds, nor will the well-watered ones grow that high. For all of them have been appointed to die in the lower parts of the earth; they will be among mere mortals, with those who descend to the Pit.

  • Isa 44:9-10
    2 verses
    70%

    9All who form idols are nothing; the things in which they delight are worthless. Their witnesses cannot see; they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.

    10Who forms a god and casts an idol that will prove worthless?

  • Ps 115:4
    70%

    4Their idols are made of silver and gold– they are man-made.

  • 1 Kgs 14:23
    70%

    23They even built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.

  • Jer 51:17-18
    2 verses
    70%

    17All idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.

    18They are worthless, objects to be ridiculed. When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.

  • Isa 10:34
    70%

    34The thickets of the forest will be chopped down with an ax, and mighty Lebanon will fall.

  • Mic 5:13
    69%

    13I will remove your idols and sacred pillars from your midst; you will no longer worship what your own hands made.

  • Ps 115:8
    69%

    8Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.

  • Hab 2:18
    69%

    18What good is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? Why would its creator place his trust in it and make such mute, worthless things?

  • Judg 9:10
    69%

    10“So the trees said to the fig tree,‘You come and be our king!’

  • Ezek 21:10
    69%

    10It is sharpened for slaughter, it is polished to flash like lightning!“‘Should we rejoice in the scepter of my son? No! The sword despises every tree!

  • Deut 16:21
    69%

    21Examples of Legal Cases You must not plant any kind of tree as a sacred Asherah pole near the altar of the LORD your God which you build for yourself.

  • Matt 7:19
    69%

    19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

  • Ezek 17:4
    69%

    4He plucked off its topmost shoot; he brought it to a land of merchants and planted it in a city of traders.

  • Hos 8:6
    69%

    6That idol was made by a workman– it is not God! The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.

  • Ezek 31:12
    69%

    12Foreigners from the most terrifying nations have cut it down and left it to lie there on the mountains. In all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in the ravines of the land. All the peoples of the land have departed from its shade and left it.

  • Isa 31:7
    69%

    7For at that time everyone will get rid of the silver and gold idols your hands sinfully made.

  • Dan 4:14
    69%

    14He called out loudly as follows:‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches! Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit! Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches!

  • Isa 37:19
    68%

    19They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.

  • Deut 4:28
    68%

    28There you will worship gods made by human hands– wood and stone that can neither see, hear, eat, nor smell.

  • Eccl 10:9
    68%

    9One who quarries stones may be injured by them; one who splits logs may be endangered by them.

  • Jer 22:7
    68%

    7I will send men against it to destroy it with their axes and hatchets. They will hack up its fine cedar panels and columns and throw them into the fire.

  • Exod 34:13
    68%

    13Rather you must destroy their altars, smash their images, and cut down their Asherah poles.

  • Hos 4:12
    68%

    12They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery against their God.