Yeremia 10:14

10:14 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 

Yeremia 10:21

10:21 For our leaders ⁴  are stupid.

They have not sought the Lord’s advice. ⁵ 

So they do not act wisely,

and the people they are responsible for ⁶  have all been scattered.

[10:14]  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.

[10:14]  ² tn Or “nothing but a phony god”; Heb “a lie/falsehood.”

[10:14]  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.

[10:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “the shepherds.”

[10:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “They have not sought the Lord.”

[10:21]  sn The idiom translated sought the Lord’s advice quite commonly refers to inquiring for the Lord’s guidance through a prophet. See for example Exod 18:15; 1 Sam 9:9; 1 Kgs 22:8. It would not exclude consulting the law.

[10:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “all their flock (or “pasturage”).”

[10:21]  sn This verse uses the figure of rulers as shepherds and the people they ruled as sheep. It is a common figure in the Bible. See Ezek 34 for an extended development of this metaphor.