Jeremiah 10
10
God Has No Rivals
1 # 10:1 Chapter 10 concludes Jeremiah’s temple message: The Threat of Exile (see 7:1–10:25), reminding Judah that Yahweh is the true God and that the idols of the nations are nothing. The chapter ends with the prophet Jeremiah praying for his people. Israel! Hear the word Yahweh speaks to you.
2Yahweh says:
“Do not adopt the ways of other nations # 10:2 This refers to the religious customs and ungodly practices of foreign nations (see vv. 3–5).
or be terrified by unusual signs in the heavens # 10:2 See Deut. 18:10. These signs refer to such things as comets, meteors, eclipses, blood moons, alignment of planets and stars, and so on. The Babylonians and other religious systems saw them as portents of evil. However, God can use a heavenly sign to point to something good coming to the earth (e.g., the star of Bethlehem).
even though the unbelieving nations are in awe of them.
3For the religious practices of the nations are delusions. # 10:3 Or “nothings.”
They cut down a tree from the forest,
then a craftsman fashions it with his hands.
4He adorns his idol with silver and gold
and takes hammer and nails to secure it
so it won’t wobble.
5Their idols are like speechless scarecrows standing in a field;
someone must carry them around because they can’t even take a step.
So don’t fear them in any way,
for they are incapable of doing good or evil.”
King of the Nations
6Yahweh, there is no God like you; # 10:6 See Ex. 15:11.
you are unrivaled in your greatness and might!
The power of your name is so great!
7King of the nations,
who would not fear you? # 10:7 See Rev. 15:3–4.
Yes, it is proper to reverence you.
Among all the wise ones of the nations
and among all their royal ones,
there is still no one as magnificent as you.
8What wisdom could they glean from a block of wood?
They are foolish blockheads, one and all.
9They cover their idols with beaten, refined silver # 10:9 Or “silver from Tarshish.” Tarshish possibly means “refinery,” thus, refined silver. See John A. Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1980), 329.
and gold, even fine gold. # 10:9 Or “gold from Uphaz.” The Targum, Syriac, and some ancient versions have “the gold of Ophir,” which was renowned for its quality. See Dan. 10:5 and the third footnote.
The hammer of a craftsman
and the hands of a goldsmith craft their image,
robing them in garments of violet and purple.
They are nothing but the work of human hands.
10Only Yahweh is the true and living God,
the King of all ages! # 10:10 This means much more than a king ruling forever as it also conveys the idea of being the ruler over time and history, forever.
At his fury the earth trembles,
and nations crumble before his wrath. # 10:10 See Joel 2:11.
11“Say to them: # 10:11 This verse is in Aramaic, suggesting it may have been the text from a letter sent by Jeremiah to Jehoiachin and the exiles in Babylon. “The Aramaic language was widely used in diplomacy and commerce during the years of the Assyrian Empire, i.e., 1100–605 BC (Overholt 1965: 5; cf. 2 Kgs 18:26), and even more during the years of the Babylonian Empire” (Jack R. Lundbom, Jeremiah 1–20, Anchor Yale Bible Commentary, vol. 21A [New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999]).
“ ‘The gods who did not create the heavens and the earth
will be destroyed from the earth and from under the heavens.’ ”
A Song of Praise
12Yahweh made the earth by his glorious power
and firmly established it by his great wisdom.
By his skill he stretched out the sky.
13When he speaks, the heavenly ocean roars!
He makes the clouds rise from the distant horizon.
He launches his lightning in the midst of the rain
and unleashes his stormy winds from heaven’s storehouses. # 10:13 Enoch described these “storehouses” (1 Enoch 17–18).
Out of his treasuries of rain, lightning bolts, and stormy winds,
he launches them forth.
14Everyone is ignorant, knowing nothing.
Every craftsman is shamed by the idols they make
since their idols are nothing but lifeless lies.
15What they make is worthless—nothing but a joke!
When Yahweh comes to punish them, they will perish.
16You idols are nothing like Yahweh,
the true Treasure of Jacob.
For he created the universe
and has chosen Israel to be his inheritance.
Yahweh, Commander of Angel Armies, is his name.
The Coming Exile
17Jerusalem, you besieged city, pack up your belongings
and get ready to leave the land.
18For Yahweh says:
“Look! I am throwing you off the land,
and I will bring you distress until you are captured.” # 10:18 The Hebrew is uncertain and difficult to translate. Possible meanings include: (1) “I will cause them to suffer greatly until they really are in pain.” (2) “I will inflict great pain on them, which they will really feel.” Or, more literally, (3) “I will bring distress that they find [meet with].” Or, if with a passive verb (see LXX, Vulg.), (4) “they will be found [captured].” Or, if the Hebrew vowels are emended, (5) “they will be squeezed out [drained] from the land.” See G. R. Driver, “Linguistic and Textual Problems: Jeremiah,” The Jewish Quarterly Review 28, no. 2 (1937): 107.
Jeremiah Brokenhearted
19Woe is me # 10:19 The majority opinion of scholars is that the one crying out is Jeremiah; however, because of a few plural pronouns, some conclude that it is the people of Jerusalem (or Jerusalem personified) who are crying out. See William McKane, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Jeremiah, The International Critical Commentary, vol. 1 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1986), 230–35. —my brokenness!
My wound is incurable.
I once said:
“Oh, I must bear this suffering,”
and I assumed I could endure it.
20But my tent # 10:20 The land was being described by Jeremiah as a land that has already been overthrown. Some scholars view the “tent” as a reference to the temple and its curtains. See F. Kenro Kumaki, “A New Look at Jer. 4:19–22 and 10:19–21,” Annual of the Japanese Biblical Institute 8 (1982): 114. has been torn down,
and all my cords are severed.
I’ll never see my children again, for they have left me. # 10:20 See Lam. 1:5.
There is no one left to stretch out my tent
and no one who can hang my curtains.
21For the leaders # 10:21 Or “shepherds.” of the nation are foolish,
and they refuse Yahweh’s guidance.
Therefore, without insight, they have not prospered,
and all their flocks are scattered.
22Look, there is news to report!
There’s a roar and a rumble # 10:22 Or possibly “a rushing [of chariots].” coming from the north, # 10:22 That is, Babylon.
coming to make the cities of Judah a rubble
and turn it into a den of jackals.
23Now, I know, O Yahweh,
that our destinies are not our own to choose,
and it is not in our power to direct our own steps.
24Correct us, Yahweh, according to what is right,
but go easy on us—
don’t correct us in your anger,
or there would be nothing left of us.
25Vent your anger and pour it out
on all these nations around us.
They’re the ones who do not worship you.
See how they’ve attacked the people of Jacob,
consuming the land and leaving it desolate. # 10:25 See Ps. 79:6. Although the Babylonian captivity had not yet happened, Jeremiah spoke of it as a settled fact.
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Jeremiah 10: TPT
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Learn More About The Passion TranslationJeremiah 10
10
God Has No Rivals
1 # 10:1 Chapter 10 concludes Jeremiah’s temple message: The Threat of Exile (see 7:1–10:25), reminding Judah that Yahweh is the true God and that the idols of the nations are nothing. The chapter ends with the prophet Jeremiah praying for his people. Israel! Hear the word Yahweh speaks to you.
2Yahweh says:
“Do not adopt the ways of other nations # 10:2 This refers to the religious customs and ungodly practices of foreign nations (see vv. 3–5).
or be terrified by unusual signs in the heavens # 10:2 See Deut. 18:10. These signs refer to such things as comets, meteors, eclipses, blood moons, alignment of planets and stars, and so on. The Babylonians and other religious systems saw them as portents of evil. However, God can use a heavenly sign to point to something good coming to the earth (e.g., the star of Bethlehem).
even though the unbelieving nations are in awe of them.
3For the religious practices of the nations are delusions. # 10:3 Or “nothings.”
They cut down a tree from the forest,
then a craftsman fashions it with his hands.
4He adorns his idol with silver and gold
and takes hammer and nails to secure it
so it won’t wobble.
5Their idols are like speechless scarecrows standing in a field;
someone must carry them around because they can’t even take a step.
So don’t fear them in any way,
for they are incapable of doing good or evil.”
King of the Nations
6Yahweh, there is no God like you; # 10:6 See Ex. 15:11.
you are unrivaled in your greatness and might!
The power of your name is so great!
7King of the nations,
who would not fear you? # 10:7 See Rev. 15:3–4.
Yes, it is proper to reverence you.
Among all the wise ones of the nations
and among all their royal ones,
there is still no one as magnificent as you.
8What wisdom could they glean from a block of wood?
They are foolish blockheads, one and all.
9They cover their idols with beaten, refined silver # 10:9 Or “silver from Tarshish.” Tarshish possibly means “refinery,” thus, refined silver. See John A. Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1980), 329.
and gold, even fine gold. # 10:9 Or “gold from Uphaz.” The Targum, Syriac, and some ancient versions have “the gold of Ophir,” which was renowned for its quality. See Dan. 10:5 and the third footnote.
The hammer of a craftsman
and the hands of a goldsmith craft their image,
robing them in garments of violet and purple.
They are nothing but the work of human hands.
10Only Yahweh is the true and living God,
the King of all ages! # 10:10 This means much more than a king ruling forever as it also conveys the idea of being the ruler over time and history, forever.
At his fury the earth trembles,
and nations crumble before his wrath. # 10:10 See Joel 2:11.
11“Say to them: # 10:11 This verse is in Aramaic, suggesting it may have been the text from a letter sent by Jeremiah to Jehoiachin and the exiles in Babylon. “The Aramaic language was widely used in diplomacy and commerce during the years of the Assyrian Empire, i.e., 1100–605 BC (Overholt 1965: 5; cf. 2 Kgs 18:26), and even more during the years of the Babylonian Empire” (Jack R. Lundbom, Jeremiah 1–20, Anchor Yale Bible Commentary, vol. 21A [New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999]).
“ ‘The gods who did not create the heavens and the earth
will be destroyed from the earth and from under the heavens.’ ”
A Song of Praise
12Yahweh made the earth by his glorious power
and firmly established it by his great wisdom.
By his skill he stretched out the sky.
13When he speaks, the heavenly ocean roars!
He makes the clouds rise from the distant horizon.
He launches his lightning in the midst of the rain
and unleashes his stormy winds from heaven’s storehouses. # 10:13 Enoch described these “storehouses” (1 Enoch 17–18).
Out of his treasuries of rain, lightning bolts, and stormy winds,
he launches them forth.
14Everyone is ignorant, knowing nothing.
Every craftsman is shamed by the idols they make
since their idols are nothing but lifeless lies.
15What they make is worthless—nothing but a joke!
When Yahweh comes to punish them, they will perish.
16You idols are nothing like Yahweh,
the true Treasure of Jacob.
For he created the universe
and has chosen Israel to be his inheritance.
Yahweh, Commander of Angel Armies, is his name.
The Coming Exile
17Jerusalem, you besieged city, pack up your belongings
and get ready to leave the land.
18For Yahweh says:
“Look! I am throwing you off the land,
and I will bring you distress until you are captured.” # 10:18 The Hebrew is uncertain and difficult to translate. Possible meanings include: (1) “I will cause them to suffer greatly until they really are in pain.” (2) “I will inflict great pain on them, which they will really feel.” Or, more literally, (3) “I will bring distress that they find [meet with].” Or, if with a passive verb (see LXX, Vulg.), (4) “they will be found [captured].” Or, if the Hebrew vowels are emended, (5) “they will be squeezed out [drained] from the land.” See G. R. Driver, “Linguistic and Textual Problems: Jeremiah,” The Jewish Quarterly Review 28, no. 2 (1937): 107.
Jeremiah Brokenhearted
19Woe is me # 10:19 The majority opinion of scholars is that the one crying out is Jeremiah; however, because of a few plural pronouns, some conclude that it is the people of Jerusalem (or Jerusalem personified) who are crying out. See William McKane, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Jeremiah, The International Critical Commentary, vol. 1 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1986), 230–35. —my brokenness!
My wound is incurable.
I once said:
“Oh, I must bear this suffering,”
and I assumed I could endure it.
20But my tent # 10:20 The land was being described by Jeremiah as a land that has already been overthrown. Some scholars view the “tent” as a reference to the temple and its curtains. See F. Kenro Kumaki, “A New Look at Jer. 4:19–22 and 10:19–21,” Annual of the Japanese Biblical Institute 8 (1982): 114. has been torn down,
and all my cords are severed.
I’ll never see my children again, for they have left me. # 10:20 See Lam. 1:5.
There is no one left to stretch out my tent
and no one who can hang my curtains.
21For the leaders # 10:21 Or “shepherds.” of the nation are foolish,
and they refuse Yahweh’s guidance.
Therefore, without insight, they have not prospered,
and all their flocks are scattered.
22Look, there is news to report!
There’s a roar and a rumble # 10:22 Or possibly “a rushing [of chariots].” coming from the north, # 10:22 That is, Babylon.
coming to make the cities of Judah a rubble
and turn it into a den of jackals.
23Now, I know, O Yahweh,
that our destinies are not our own to choose,
and it is not in our power to direct our own steps.
24Correct us, Yahweh, according to what is right,
but go easy on us—
don’t correct us in your anger,
or there would be nothing left of us.
25Vent your anger and pour it out
on all these nations around us.
They’re the ones who do not worship you.
See how they’ve attacked the people of Jacob,
consuming the land and leaving it desolate. # 10:25 See Ps. 79:6. Although the Babylonian captivity had not yet happened, Jeremiah spoke of it as a settled fact.
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The Passion Translation® is a registered trademark of Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc.
Copyright © 2020 Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc.
Learn More About The Passion Translation