Discovery BoxJeremiah 10:14-16 
Context10:14 All these idolaters 1 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. 2
There is no breath in any of those idols. 3
10:15 They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked. 4
When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.
10:16 The Lord, who is the inheritance 5 of Jacob’s descendants, 6 is not like them.
He is the one who created everything.
And the people of Israel are those he claims as his own. 7
He is known as the Lord who rules over all.” 8
1 tn Heb “Every man.” But in the context this is not a reference to all people without exception but to all idolaters. The referent is made explicit for the sake of clarity.
2 tn Or “nothing but a phony god”; Heb “a lie/falsehood.”
3 tn Heb “There is no breath in them.” The referent is made explicit so that no one will mistakenly take it to refer to the idolaters or goldsmiths.
4 tn Or “objects of mockery.”
5 tn The words “The
sn The phrase the portion of Jacob’s descendants, which is applied to God here, has its background in the division of the land where each tribe received a portion of the land of Palestine except the tribe of Levi whose “portion” was the
6 tn Heb “The Portion of Jacob.” “Descendants” is implied, and is supplied in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “And Israel is the tribe of his possession.”
8 tn Heb “Yahweh of armies is his name.”
sn For this rendering of the name for God and its significance see 2:19 and the study note there.
