Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

JEREMIAH 10:14KJV
Know the Bible

Jeremiah 10:14 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 10:14 mean?

Jeremiah 10:14 says that every person is senseless in their understanding, and those who make idols are put to shame because these idols are lies and have no life in them. The verse points out the foolishness of trusting in man-made images that cannot speak or act.

In this verse, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking to the people of Judah, warning them about the emptiness of idol worship. He highlights that even skilled craftsmen ("founders") are embarrassed by their creations, because these "graven images" are false and lifeless. The verse is part of a larger section where Jeremiah contrasts the living God with powerless idols.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 10:14

  • "Brutish" (בַּעַר, baʿar) means to be dull or senseless, often used to describe someone acting without understanding. Here, it emphasizes how people lose sense when it comes to spiritual truth.
  • "Knowledge" (דַּעַת, daʿat) refers to understanding or insight. The verse suggests that even human knowledge fails when it comes to recognizing the truth about idols.
  • "Founder" (צָרֵף, tsaref) is the word for a metalworker or smith, someone who crafts idols. Jeremiah points out that even these skilled workers are "confounded" or put to shame by the uselessness of their own creations.
  • "Molten image" (נֵסֶךְ, neseḵ) and "graven image" (פֶּסֶל, pesel) are two different words for idols, highlighting both carved and cast forms. Both are described as "falsehood" (שֶׁקֶר, sheqer), meaning deception or a lie, and lacking "breath" (רוּחַ, ruach), which means spirit or life.

Why Jeremiah 10:14 matters

  • Jeremiah 10:14 clears up the idea that idols might have some hidden power or value; it stresses that they are completely lifeless and false.
  • The verse highlights the irony that even the skilled makers of idols end up embarrassed by the emptiness of their own work.
  • In the wider context, Jeremiah 10:14 helps set up a strong contrast between the living God and dead idols, reinforcing the message that only God is truly alive and worthy of trust.

Where else these words appear

“founder” Hebrew H6884 · used in 29 verses

  • Judges 7:4 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.
  • Psalms 66:10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
  • Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

“image” Hebrew H6459 · used in 31 verses

  • Exodus 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
  • Judges 18:17 And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.
  • Isaiah 42:17 They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.

“image” Hebrew H5262 · used in 62 verses

  • Genesis 35:14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
  • Numbers 28:24 After this manner ye shall offer daily, throughout the seven days, the meat of the sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: it shall be offered beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.
  • 2 Kings 16:13 And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar.

“confounded” Hebrew H3001 · used in 67 verses

  • Genesis 8:7 And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
  • Isaiah 15:6 For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing.
  • Jeremiah 51:36 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.