Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 10:15
They [are] vanity, [and] the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
15. delusion ] rather (with mg.) mockery, bringing scorn upon those who trust in them. The last clause of the v. refers to the fate which may be expected to befall the idols when “the day of the Lord” comes. Cp. Isa 2:12 ff.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Rather, They are vanity, a work of mockery, deserving only ridicule and contempt.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
They are vanity, and the work of errors; either in their rise, as springing from men of corrupt minds, or the foundation of them; a metonymy of the effect; teachers and encouragers of lies, Hab 2:18; things rather to be scoffed at and derided, than adored and worshipped; and it is expressed in the plural number, to note the multiplicity of them.
In the time of their visitation they shall perish; when God shall have a controversy with them, shall come to reckon with Babylon and her idols, they and their worshippers shall be destroyed, alluding possibly to the manner of the pagan conquests, who were wont to carry away both persons and the idols of the country, and either break them to pieces, or burn them; thus were they served by, the Persians: see on Isa 46:1. This possibly may be spoken by way of encouragement to the Jews, that took offence at the Chaldean idols that were set up in their sight; that God may strengthen their patience he tells them he visits them in mercy, and their enemies in judgment; he will destroy those idols.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. errorsdeceptions; from aHebrew root, “to stutter”; then meaning “tomock.”
their visitation theyWhenGod shall punish the idol-worshippers (namely, by Cyrus), the idolsthemselves shall be destroyed [ROSENMULLER](Jer 10:11).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
They 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.
In the time of their visitation they shall perish; or in the time that I shall visit upon them their sins, as the Targum; that is, when Babylon should be destroyed by the Medes and Persians, as Kimchi interprets it; when their idols were destroyed also; see Isa 46:1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He confirms the same thing. What he called before falsehood, שקר, shikor, he calls now vanity, הבל ebel. They are vanity, he says. He had said that they were falsehood, which means, that men were grossly deceived when they sought the presence of God in dead things, now he says, that they were vanity, and also the work of illusions; but some render the last word “mockeries,” taking it in a passive sense; and hence the Chaldee interpreter renders it, “a thing worthy of ridicule and laughter.” (14) But I prefer to take it for imposture or deception. Jacob said to his mother, “I shall be found in the eyes of my father a deceiver;” but some render the word there “a mocker.” But Jacob, on the contrary, meant that he should be found out as one of no credit, or acting in guile, as though he had said, “I shall be an impostor, and rny father will flnd out the fraud.” So also in this place, he calls idols the work of deceptions, by which men infatuated themselves. He does not then teach us here that idols deserved to be ridiculed, but he refers to the madness of those who imagined that they were gods, for he had before called them vanity and falsehood; and there is no doubt but that in these various ways he repeats and confirms the same thing.
He afterwards adds, In the time of their visitation they shall perish The pronoun “their” may be applied to idols or to the Chaldeans: when the time of visitation shall come; that is, when God shall punish the enemies of his Church, then their idols shall perish: or, when the time shall come for God to visit the idols, they shall perish. Either sense may be admitted; and indeed as to the subject in hand, there is no difference.
The Israelites might have objected and said, “How is it then that false gods, whom men have devised for themselves, are worshipped, and are in great esteem and highly regarded? How does God suffer and overlook this?” The Israelites might have raised an objection of this kind. Therefore the Prophet answers them, They shall perish; but it shall be at the time of visitation (15) It is an exhortation to patience, that the faithful might not despond or be weakened in their hopes, though they saw silver gods carried on men’s shoulders, though they saw wood and stone set on elevated places, and incense burnt to them and sacrifices offered to them. Though then they saw idols in such esteem, they were not yet to despair or fall away from true religion, for the time of visitation was to be looked for, when God would execute his judgment on the false gods as well as on their worshippets. We now understand why he speaks of visitation. It follows —
(14) So, substantially, is the version of the Sept., Vulg., Syr. , and Arab., — “ridiculous — worthy of laughter — foolish — ludicrous.” But the word means no such thing. The verb תעה means to wander, to err, to go astray; in Niphal, to be led astray, to be deceived; and Hiphil, to lead astray, to seduce, to deceive; and it is a Hiphil participle in Gen 27:12. It is here a reduplicate noun; and Blayney takes it as referring to persons, and not as an abstract noun — those who greatly err; and this is the best view, as the Prophet has been throughout describing the idol-makers —
Vanity are they ( i.e., the idols,) The work of the grossly deluded: At the time of their visitation they shall perish;
that is, the grossly deluded.
He had before threatened ruin to idols; but he now threatens their makers. — Ed.
(15) Scott quotes a sermon of Mede, in which he says, “Ye have heard the state of the times, wherein this prophecy is commanded; now let us consider the event. We have heard of the admired oracles of the Gentiles, of Apollo at Delphos, of Jupiter Ammon in Egypt, etc.; but all of them are long since perished. Where is now Bel, the god of Babylon, Nisroch, the god of Assyria, Baal and Astaroth, the gods of Zidonians, Milcom of the Ammonites, Chemosh of Moab, and Tammuz of the Egyptians? Even these also are perished with their names.” The partial fulfillment of this prophecy is an evidence of its complete fulfillment, when “the spirit of evil,” as Scott says, “whom all idolaters worship, shall be confined to the bottomless pit.” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(15) The work of errors.Better, a work of mockery, i.e., worthy of that and of that only, the word being apparently substituted, after Jeremiahs manner, for the technical word, not unlike in sound, which is translated image work in 2Ch. 3:10.
In the time of their visitation.i.e., in the time when they are visited with punishment, as in 1Pe. 2:12; Isa. 10:3, and Luk. 19:44.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Work of errors Rather, of mockery; a thing that deserves only ridicule and contempt, and brings it upon all its votaries.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jer 10:15 They [are] vanity, [and] the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
Ver. 15. They are vanity. ] Vanity, in its largest extent, is properly predicated of them.
And the work of errors.
In the time of their visitation.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
vanity. The common appellative for idols.
errors = mockeries.
the time of their visitation. See note on Jer 8:12.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
vanity: Jer 10:8, Jer 8:19, Jer 14:22, Jer 51:18, Deu 32:21, 1Sa 12:21, Isa 41:24, Isa 41:29, Jon 2:8, Act 14:15
in the: Jer 10:11, Jer 8:12, Isa 2:18-21, Zep 1:3, Zep 1:4, Zec 13:2
Reciprocal: Deu 32:17 – not to God 1Ki 16:13 – vanities 2Ki 17:15 – vanity Psa 31:6 – lying Psa 40:4 – as turn Psa 96:5 – For Isa 44:9 – make Isa 45:16 – General Jer 1:16 – worshipped Jer 2:5 – walked Jer 16:19 – Surely Jer 18:15 – burned Jer 48:44 – the year Eze 24:12 – wearied Hos 9:7 – days of visitation Hos 12:11 – surely Mic 7:4 – thy Hab 2:18 – a teacher Act 19:26 – that they Rom 1:21 – but became Rom 1:25 – into a lie Rev 9:20 – and idols
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 10:15. They are vanity means that idols are useless and can accomplish nothing. Work of errors denotes the whole system of idolatry is a mistake. Time of their visitation signifies tiiat when the gods of the heathen are put to the test they will be proved a failure, and they who worshiped them will he put to shame.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Idols have no worth. They mock those who make them by their silence. And they are unable to defend themselves, so they perish whenever the true God chooses to humiliate them.