“Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.”
My Notes
What Does Jeremiah 10:9 Mean?
Jeremiah describes the manufacture of an idol with meticulous, almost mocking detail: silver imported from Tarshish (the most distant known source), gold from Uphaz, crafted by a workman and a metalsmith, dressed in blue and purple cloth. Every element is expensive, imported, and skillfully made. And the result? An idol. A thing made by human hands, dressed in royal colors, that can't move, speak, or save.
The itemization of the materials—silver plates, gold, blue and purple fabric, skilled craftsmanship—is deliberately satirical. Jeremiah is inventorying the impressive inputs to highlight the absurd output. All this expense. All this skill. All this international trade. And what did it produce? A god that had to be dressed by the humans who made it.
The phrase "they are all the work of cunning men" is the verdict. However impressive the idol looks, it remains the product of human skill. It can't transcend its origin. The most expensive materials and the most skilled craftsmen can't produce a god. They can only produce an expensive statue. The gap between the cost of production and the value of the product is infinite.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What have you invested impressive resources in that ultimately can't deliver what you need? What's the return on that investment?
- 2.If you stepped back and looked at the things you've 'crafted' with your best effort—career, image, lifestyle—what are they really? Can they save you?
- 3.Why do people invest so much in things they know, deep down, are just 'the work of cunning men'?
- 4.What would it look like to redirect even a fraction of that investment toward the God who actually delivers?
Devotional
Silver from Tarshish. Gold from Uphaz. Blue and purple cloth. Expert craftsmen. The best materials from the farthest places, worked by the most skilled hands. And the result: a statue. A thing that can't see, can't hear, can't move, can't save. All that investment for something that has to be dressed by the people who made it.
Jeremiah's tone is almost sarcastic. He catalogs the inputs with the precision of an accountant and then delivers the punch line: "they are all the work of cunning men." Impressive? Sure. Human-made? Absolutely. Divine? Not even close. The gap between the cost and the output is the joke—and it's on the worshipers.
You may not import silver for idol-making, but you probably invest impressive resources in things that ultimately can't deliver what you need from them. The career you've poured gold-level effort into—can it save your soul? The image you've dressed in blue and purple—can it give you genuine identity? The lifestyle you've crafted with the most cunning tools available—can it answer your prayers?
Jeremiah's mockery isn't mean-spirited. It's an invitation to see clearly. Step back from the thing you've been investing in and ask: what is this, really? Is it worth the silver from Tarshish? Is it worth the gold from Uphaz? Or is it, at the end of the day, just the work of cunning hands—impressive to look at, but completely unable to deliver what only God can provide?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish,.... In Cilicia, where the Apostle Paul was born; according to…
Or, “It is a piece of wood (Jer 10:8 note); yea, beaten silver it is, which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from…
The prophet Isaiah, when he prophesied of the captivity in Babylon, added warnings against idolatry and largely exposed…
A description of the process of the making of idols out of silver and gold, and the robing of them in expensive…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture