Jeremiah 10:15
in Jeremiah 10They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
KJV
They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
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This verse in Jeremiah 10
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThey are vanity,.... They are the fruit of the vain imagination of men; to worship them shows the vanity of the human mind; and they are vain things to trust to: and the work of errors; of erroneous men, and which lead men into errors; and are worthy to be laughed at, as the Targum paraphrases it.
This site's exposition
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols
on Jeremiah 10:14-16
The words “every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols” make the craftsman the idol's accuser, for “there is no breath in them”. Verse 16 answers with “The Portion of Jacob”, the God who is “the Maker of all things”, and Israel is “the tribe of His inheritance”.
This site's exposition
a work to be mocked
Gill reads the phrase with the Targum as objects worthy of laughter, the work of men in error that leads others into error. Their punishment comes on a set day. The makers fall with them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 15.) They are worthless and fit only for ridicule. They will perish at the time of their visitation. They are vain and worthy of laughter. For who would not laugh when they see the images of heretics? Either they are rustic and wooden, or they are composed in beautiful language and contain silver, or they are admittedly simulated with their own sense and falsely promise the image of gold. In the time of their visitation, they will perish. Heresy is valuable for a time, so that the chosen ones may be made manifest and proven.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Enquire into the use of them and you will find they are the work of errors, grounded upon the grossest mistakes that ever men who pretended to reason were guilty of. They are the creatures of a deluded fancy; and the errors by which they were produced they propagate among their worshippers. (2.) Infer hence what the idolaters are that worship these idols. (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
22 Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of dragons. 23 O L ORD , I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. 24 O L ORD , correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v22-24
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
errors--deceptions; from a Hebrew root, "to stutter"; then meaning "to mock." their visitation they--When God shall punish the idol-worshippers (namely, by Cyrus), the idols themselves shall be destroyed [ROSENMULLER] (Jer 10:11).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Rather, “They are vanity, a work of mockery,” deserving only ridicule and contempt.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֶ֣בֶל | hevel | [are] futility | H1892 → | 73 times |
| הֵ֔מָּה | hemah | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה | maaseh | a work of | H4639 → | 236 times |
| תַּעְתֻּעִ֑ים | ta'tuim | mockery | H8595 → | |
| בְּעֵ֥ת | beet | at [the] time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| פְּקֻדָּתָ֖ם | pekudatam | punishment their | H6486 → | 32 times |
| יֹאבֵֽדוּ׃ | yovedu | they will perish | H6 → | 184 times |
הֶ֣בֶל[are] futility
hevelH1892 →73 times
הֵ֔מָּהthey
hemahH1992 →553 times
מַעֲשֵׂ֖הa work of
maasehH4639 →236 times
תַּעְתֻּעִ֑יםmockery
ta'tuimH8595 →
בְּעֵ֥תat [the] time of
beetH6256 →296 times
פְּקֻדָּתָ֖םpunishment their
pekudatamH6486 →32 times
יֹאבֵֽדוּ׃they will perish
yoveduH6 →184 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 14:22Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have…
it leads to
- Joel 2:23
Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as…
- Jeremiah 5:24
They have not said in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rains, both autumn and spring, in season, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of harvest.’
- Psalms 135:7
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.
- Isaiah 30:23
Then He will send rain for the seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food that comes from your land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will…
- Deuteronomy 32:21
They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will…
- Joel 2:23
Through
Zechariah 13:2And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 22:22
And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ ‘You will surely entice him and prevail,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’
- Hosea 2:17
For I will remove from her lips the names of the Baals; no longer will their names be invoked.
- Jeremiah 23:14–15
And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness.…
- 1 Kings 22:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.