Jeremiah 10

Jeremiah Chapter Ten Verse 1 10THE TRUE GOD WITH IDOLSIn this chapter, we encounter a barrage of critical bias to the effect that, “This chapter presupposes a situation in which the people addressed are living among the heathen and need to be warned against idolatry."[1] “There is an interruption of thought … Most scholars question the authenticity of a major section of this chapter."[2] “Most scholars wish to date this passage during the exile and consider it post-Jeremiahic."[3] “Jeremiah 10:1-16 here interrupt the connection between Jeremiah 9:22 and Jeremiah 10:17."[4]None of these allegations has any foundation whatever. This whole chapter was written shortly before the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem the first time. At that time the Jews were a thoroughly idolatrous people. The horrible idolatries under Manasseh were still adored and secretly worshipped by the Jews; and the superficial reforms under Josiah had not really changed the hearts of the people. Idolatry was rampant in Judaea in the closing days of their apostasy and just before their deportation to Babylon. Any notion, therefore that the warning here regarding the “nothingness of idols” was not needed must be classified as ridiculous. Of course, the Jews desperately needed this warning; and, since this chapter mentions the near approach of the Babylonian invasion, it was especially appropriate that Jeremiah should have given the Jews another dramatic warning of the idolatry which they were sure to encounter in Babylon, as well as citing again their own idolatry which was a major cause of their divine punishment. Of all the critical attacks upon the authenticity of Biblical books which we have encountered, the one here appears as the very weakest and unbelievable of all of them. Green also agreed that this disputed passage, “could have been Jeremiah’s warning to Judah against falling under the spell of the Babylonian brand of idolatry."[5] How blind are the interpreters who do not see such an obvious truth. There is no interruption of the sequence of thought; there is no break in the intimate connection evident in every line of these chapters. How natural it was that, in the same breath, where Jeremiah hailed the advance of the destroyers (Jeremiah 10:17 ff), God’s great prophet should have warned the Jews of the Babylonian idolatry. Another fact of the utmost importance that surfaces in this chapter is the fact that Jeremiah took this description of idols and their worthlessness almost verbatim from Isaiah’s description of the same things in chapters 40-44. “The correspondence between Jeremiah’s description and that of Isaiah, is so manifest that no one can doubt that one is modeled upon the other. If Jeremiah, then, took the thoughts and phrases from Isaiah (which he most obviously did do), it is plain that the last twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah were prior in date to the times of Jeremiah, and that they were not written at the close of the Babylonian exile. This passage is a crucial one to the pseudo-Isaiah theory."[6]The critics, of course, realize that they must reply to this, or lose their case for a Deutero-Isaiah altogether; but R. Payne Smith has effectively refuted their attempted answers. (1) There is the claim that the pseudo-Isaiah copied from Jeremiah. “This is refuted by the style,” which is Isaiah’s, not Jeremiah’s."[7] (2) An alternative answer would make an interpolation out of the whole passage (Jeremiah 10:1-16). “This is contradicted by the appearance of the passage in LXX."[8] Even some writers who half-heartedly cling to the out-dated critical allegations, such as Dummelow, are impressed with these answers. Dummelow, after mentioning the theories about this chapter, stated that, “It should, however, be said, on the other hand, that the LXX, although omitting much that is in the Hebrew, yet contains this chapter![9]In our view, such facts as these, coupled with many others cited throughout this series of commentaries, effectively dispose of the whole multiple-Isaiah nonsense. Jeremiah 10:1-5THE OF THE FALSE GODS"Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith Jehovah, learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are like a palm-tree, of turned work, and speak not: they must be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.““Learn not the way of the nations … the nations are dismayed … the customs of the peoples are vanity …” (Jeremiah 10:2-3). There is absolutely no way that Jeremiah could have made it any plainer that the admonition of this chapter was designed to aid the Jews in rejecting the idolatry of the Gentiles, such as that they would encounter in Babylon. Furthermore, this scathing denunciation of idolatry came right out of the experience of Jeremiah who was an eye-witness of the gross conduct of the Jews in that sector throughout his lifetime. “He had known it (the idolatry) first-hand, himself being held in awe only by the monotheistic faith cherished by the best of the people."[10]The special need for Jeremiah’s warning against idolatry was mentioned by Halley. “It seems that the threat of Babylonian invasion had spurred the people of Judah into great activity in manufacturing idols, as if idols could save them. This gave Jeremiah the occasion for these verses."[11]“Be not dismayed at the signs of heaven …” (Jeremiah 10:2). “This does not refer to the sun, moon, and stars, or signs of the zodiac, meant by God to be signs (Genesis 1:14), but to unusual phenomena like eclipses, meteorites, comets, etc. which were supposed by the ancients to portend extraordinary events. Such things struck terror into the hearts of ancient pagans. Egypt and Babylon were both addicted to this very thing."[12]Thus, Jeremiah could not have made it any plainer if he had cited Babylon by name as being the very people against whom the Israelites were here warned against taking up their false gods and customs. To declare that these verses do not fit is to betray a total lack of understanding of Jeremiah’s purpose. “They cannot do evil … or do good …” (Jeremiah 10:5). Harrison paraphrased this verse as follows: “The false gods are like a scarecrow in a patch of cucumbers!"[13]Verse 6 “There is none like unto thee, O Jehovah; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who should not fear thee, O King of the nations? for to thee doth it appertain; forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royal estate, there is none like unto thee. But they are together brutish and foolish: in instruction of idols! it is but a stock. There is silver beaten into plates, which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the artificer and of the hands of the goldsmith; blue and purple for their clothing; they are all the work of skillful men. But Jehovah is the true God; he is the living God, and an everlasting King; at his wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide his indignation.“This is a contemptuous description of idols as contrasted with the eternal and almighty God. Tarshish is thought to have been in Spain. Uphaz is unknown; and Harrison thought that it might even be, “a metallurgical term meaning refined gold.' "[14] No matter how expensive were the decorations applied to idols, they were nevertheless "essentially nothing," unable either to harm or to benefit their worshippers. Although he missed the truth about <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/11" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:11</a>, calling it "a gloss,"[15] Thompson nevertheless made a significant contribution to the proper understanding of this passage. He wrote: "In view of many attempts to rearrange <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/1" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:1-25</a>, we might ask if such is really the right procedure. It may be far better to try to make sense out of what lies before us in the text ("Amen," J.B.C.). We discern a reasonable pattern in which alternating assertions are made about idols and Yahweh." <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/1" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:1</a>, introductory statement. <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/2" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:2-5</a>, a warning against idols. <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/6" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:6-7</a>, the supremacy of Yahweh. <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/8" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:8-9</a>, the futility of idols. <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/10" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:10-13</a>, the creative power of Jehovah. <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/14" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:14-15</a>, idols and their makers judged. <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/16" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:16</a>, final acknowledgment of Yahweh's supremacy. Seen in this way, the whole passage has coherence and order.[16]This is a perfect demonstration that the passage does not need any rearrangement at all. It is perfectly logical and appropriate right where it is. Verse 11 "Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens."We have noted that Thompson mistakenly called this a gloss. It is no such thing. "It must not be regarded as a gloss, because it provides an immediate connection between <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/10" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:10</a>; <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/12" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:12</a>."[17]"Thus shall ye say unto them ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/11" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:11</a>). This refers to a popular saying in those times in the Chaldee tongue (to which the Jews would soon travel); and, in effect, it gives God's people a ready-made answer in the tongue of their captors by which they would be able to resist the inducements to participate in Babylonian idolatry. This is one of the master-strokes of the whole prophecy. "Because this verse is in Chaldee (Aramaic) some expositors reject it as a gloss; but all versions have it. It fits the context perfectly."[18] Furthermore, "No copyist would have interpolated a Chaldee verse into a Hebrew text!"[19]In the attention we have paid to the authenticity of the chapter, we should not overlook the extremely important theological teachings of these important verses: "There is none like God (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/6" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:6</a>); He is the true and living God (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/10" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:10</a>); He is the Creator of heaven and earth (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/12" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:12</a>); He is the controller of the clouds and of the rain (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/13" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:13</a>); he alone is worthy of the respect and adoration of all men (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/7" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:7</a>); He is especially the God of Israel (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/16" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:16</a>). Before leaving <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/11" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:11</a>, we shall note that many recent commentators love to parrot the old critical shibboleth that "This verse, being in Chaldee (Aramaic) is out of place."[20] But such a remark is nothing but an eighteenth century error. As R. Payne Smith, Dean of Canterbury, stated in 1929, "The appearance of this verse, as is, in the Septuagint (LXX) version is decisive. That this verse is in Aramaic is accounted for by the supposition that the exiles (soon to be in Babylon) were to use these very words (in the Chaldean tongue) as a retort when asked by the Chaldeans to join in their idol-worship. It was probably a proverbial saying."[21] What an advantage for the exiles that they were thus armed with a popular proverb in the very language of their captors, enabling them to resist appeals to join in Babylonian idolatry! Verse 12 "He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens. When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries. Every man is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.""Who made ... established ... stretched out ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/12" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:12</a>) The three things that entered into the Creator's preparing a home for his human creation are listed here: (1) he made the earth; (2) he prepared and fitted it to be a human dwelling place; and (3) he protected it from cosmic damage by such things as excessive radiation and falling meteorites, stretching out the heavens (the atmospheric shield) as a protection. "He maketh lightnings for the rain ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/13" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:13</a>). "Every thunderstorm bears witness to the wise and almighty government of God."[22]"Every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/14" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:14</a>) Any person who can see the violent strength of a tropical thunderstorm and then bow down and worship a lifeless image, a production of his own hands, as god (!) has simply forsaken all intelligence. Such images (notice the change from the singular "image" to the plural "them" in <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/14" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:14</a>, as frequently in the Bible) are worthless, having "no breath" in them. <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/15" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:15-16</a> stress the fact that graven images are entitled to no respect at all but are worthy only of contempt. The glorious God of Jacob, the true and almighty living God who created the heavens and the earth is contrasted with the idols in <a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/16" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:16</a>. The parenthetical admonition concerning idols (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/1" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:1-16</a>) ends here; and Jeremiah returns to the approaching captivity. Verse 17 "Gather up thy wares out of the land, O thou that abidest in the siege. For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and will distress them, that they may feel it."Here Judah is commanded to pick up her bundle of belongings and begin the long trek to Babylon, on which journey they will be retained by a cord of some kind passed through the ear, the lip, or the nose. One may see such lines of captives upon the old murals and monuments from that era of the world's brutal history. The near approach of the disaster is forcefully indicated in these verses. "That they may feel it ..." (<a href="/bible/parallel/JER/10/18" class="green-link">Jeremiah 10:18</a>). "In the Syriac version, this reads, That they may find me’ (God)."[23]“I will sling out the inhabitants …” (Jeremiah 10:18). There is a similar thought in Isaiah 22:18; and in both places the reference is to the violence of the expulsion. The metaphor comes from the habit of whirling a stone round and round in a sling and then releasing it. Verse 19 “Woe is me because of my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is my grief, and I must bear it. My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken: there is none to spread my tent any more, and to set up my curtains. For the shepherds are become brutish, and have not inquired of Jehovah: therefore they have not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered. The voice of tidings, behold, it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling place of jackals.“In the sad picture that emerges here, Jerusalem is compared to a tent-dwelling mother whose tent has been destroyed and her children carried away. Nobody is left to help her repair the tent. The blame belongs to the ignorant leaders who neglected to ask guidance from the Lord.

Then the scene changes a bit. Destruction is already approaching from the north country, which was the usual entry into Palestine by invading nations. The Jewish Targum gives the general sense here, thus: “My land is desolate, and all my cities plundered: my people are gone into captivity, and are not."[24]Jeremiah’s sorrow over the fate of his people is so great, and he is identified with them so completely, that the lament of the plundered and destroyed nation seems to be adopted as his own. “The shepherds …” (Jeremiah 10:21). These were all of the people’s leaders, including kings, priests, scribes, false prophets, and all the rest. They had wantonly and willfully forsaken God with the inevitable consequences about to be executed upon Judah. “The voice … behold, it cometh …” (Jeremiah 10:22). “These words indicate that the captivity is still, at this time, in the future."[25]Verse 23 “O Jehovah, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O Jehovah, correct me, but in measure; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name; for they have devoured Jacob, yea they have devoured him and consumed him, and laid waste his habitation.““It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps …” (Jeremiah 10:23). This is one of the most profound statements in the Scriptures and one that needs continually to be heeded by sinful men. As long as men seek to be guided by their own counsels, and by what seems good to them, they are destined to frustration and defeat. “O Jehovah, correct me, but in measure” (Jeremiah 10:24). Jeremiah’s payer here recognized the need of Judah for correction, but he prays for God’s mercy as the blow falls. In the Jewish view, only the Gentiles deserved divine wrath and punishment. The Jews were God’s chosen people. Thus there found a way into Jeremiah’s prayer for a plea for God to pour out his wrath and indignation upon the Gentile instruments of Judah’s chastisement. This prayer was just, “Because the heathen were devouring Jacob, not as obedient ministers of divine chastisement, but as wild beasts, gratifying their lusts, and their hatred of true religion."[26] In the eventual history of the Chosen People, Jeremiah’s prayer was answered. In mercy, God concluded their captivity and made it possible for all who wished to do so to return to Judah; but Babylon was ruthlessly destroyed by the Medo-Persians.

Jeremiah 10:1

Jeremiah 10:1. House of Israel was used in the, general sense although the kingdom of Judah was specifically meant. The kingdom of Israel (the 10 tribes) had been in exile more than a century.

Jeremiah 10:2

Jeremiah 10:2. Idolatry was the greatest corruption of Israel and lor which the nation was destined t,o be driven out of the home land. Idol worship was of three kinds that might well be termed as natural, artificial and imaginative, The first was the worship of the planets, the beasts, the trees and the rivers. The second was that of images made by hand out of wood, stone and metal. The third was some invisible god such as Baal and Ashtaroth. This verse deals with the first because signs is the same word as that in Genesis 1:14 where we know It, means the sun and other heavenly bodies. God is admonishing his people not to be in dread of these planets for to do so would make them as foolish as the heathen.

Jeremiah 10:3-5

Jeremiah 10:3-5, These verses should form a bracket and the subject is the weakness of idolatry. Customs refers to the practices of the idolaters which are so foolish and inconsistent. Th’ most ordinary Intelligence would enable a man to conclude that a god worthy of being worshiped should he greater and stronger than the worshiper, But in the case of these manmade idols (number 2 of tbe forms of Idols noted In the preceding verse) the entire object to be worshiped is Tim work of the worshiper. It is true that a man might make an Instrument that could perform some mechanical feat which he could not do with his bare hands. In such a case, however, the praise for the instrument would be given to the one who made it. But the matter of this form of idolatry is just the opposite to that.

After the god has been taken out of the forest, shaped Into the desired form, decorated to taste and placed In the desired location, it. is as helpless as a standing tree. If the worshiper wishes the god to occupy some other place he most carry It to that location since It is unable to move an inch. It is strange that any human being could be so foolish as to engage in such a practice, especially for the Jews to do so when they had so much information about the true God. But it nrnves the truth of an Old saving that “ There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.”

Jeremiah 10:6

Jeremiah 10:6. Having described the emptiness of idolatry the prophet turns his speech into praise for the God of the Hebrews, There is no one like unto Him, for he is the one who created the materials from which the idolaters obtained the images they worship.

Jeremiah 10:7

Jeremiah 10:7. Not only are the dumb things of creation such as the trees the work of the Lord, but He Is greater in might than the greatest and wiser than the wisest among all the nations of the world. To thee doth it appertain means that fear or reverence is due to be given to the Lord because be truly is the King of nations.

Jeremiah 10:8

Jeremiah 10:8. They refers to the wise men of the nations mentioned in the preceding verse, Altogether denotes that all of these “wise” idolaters are in one class and that they are brutish (stupid) and foolish.

Jeremiah 10:9

Jeremiah 10:9. This verse is similar to the bracket of Jer 10:3-5 in that it portrays the weakness of idolatry. Every material advantage is given the idol gods. The silver brought from Tarshish and the gold from Uphaz were among the best in fineness, and from these metals the images were formed. After the Idol forms were made they were decorated with blue and scarlet fabrics which were among the most beautiful materials. And yet with r1’ of this arrangement the most that can be said of them is that they are the work of cunning men.

Jeremiah 10:10

Jeremiah 10:10. The attractive appearance which the idolaters gave to their image did not. make it able to show even any signs of life, much less enable It to do anything. On the other hand the Lord of Israel Is the living God. He not only is a king but an everlasting king. Instead of being made out of earthly materials as was the idol god, the earth is altogether within the power of this living God. The heathen nations merely otter foolfsh and Ineffective service to their material god, while they tremble at the wrath of the God whom Jeremiah worshiped.

Jeremiah 10:11

Jeremiah 10:11. Thus shall ye say unto them is the instruction of the Lord, telling Jeremiah what he should say t.O the people of his nation. They are to be told that their idol gods will cease to be and hence it will be seen all Idols are powerless.

Jeremiah 10:12

Jeremiah 10:12, He refers to the Lord who was named in verse 10. Three important qualifications are possessed by Him and were used In the formation of the universe; power, wisdom and discretion. The first made it possible for him to do the work, the second furnished him with tbe genera! Information as to how it should he done, and the third suggested the most useful or practical plan of the whole arrangement.

Jeremiah 10:13

Jeremiah 10:13. This verse Is simply a statement of God’ s control over the elements In the universe. Moisture goes up from the earth and is condensed into rain and produces even such Quantities of it that a multitude of waters results. (Genesis 7.)

Jeremiah 10:14

Jeremiah 10:14. In view of God’ s power over the whole earth, the men who pretend to worship the images which they make out of a mere speck of this great universe are brutish (stupid). When the wooden or metal image is put to the test the maker and worshiper of it wiil he confounded or confused. He will learn to his sorrow that these breathless images can accomplish nothing for him and that, all expectations offered to him by the idolatrous prophets were falsehood.

Jeremiah 10:15

Jeremiah 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.

Jeremiah 10:16

Jeremiah 10:16. The original for portion is defined ‘‘allotment” In the lexicon and refers to the favors that Jacob or the people descended from him wiil enjoy. He is a pronoun for God who is the former of all things and who can bestow actual blessings on his people. Hosts is from tsebaaii and Strong defines it, “A mass of persons (or figuratively things), especially regularly organized for war (an army).” Name is from smbm, which Strong defines as follows: “A primitive word . . .through the idea of definite and conspicuous position. An appellation I name], as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character.” A name that signifies all these important, characteristics is certainly one that is properly given to Him who made and rules the universe.

Jeremiah 10:17

Jeremiah 10:17. Gather up thy mares is like telling a person to get his personal belongings together and be ready to leave. It is a prediction that the inhabitants of the fortress which is Jerusalem will soon have to leave.

Jeremiah 10:18

Jeremiah 10:18. The same prediction is continued but in more direct terms. To sling out means to expell with force and at this once signifies that the hour of departure is at hand. That was literally true for Jeremiah began to write less than 20 years before the Babylonian captivity started. Distress Is from a Hebrew word that is defined “to cramp” in the lexicon, and is used with reference to the Babylonian captivity for the people of God certainly were cramped when they were huddled in that country. Find Is from MATES and Strong defines it, “to come forth, i.e., appear or exist; transitively to attain, i.e., find or acquire.” The gist of the clause is that Judah was to be shut up in Babylon in order to find by experience what it means to disregard the taw of the Lord.

Jeremiah 10:19

Jeremiah 10:19, The prophet speaks in the first person but is really concerned about the hurt of the nation. The hurt refers to the downfall that his people are soon to suffer from the enemy. I must bear it corresponds with the decree that nothing could be done by any man to avoid the captivity.

Jeremiah 10:20

Jeremiah 10:20. Tabernacle and cords are used figuratively because the nation had not used that structure since the days of Solomon. The clause means the temple was about to be demolished and 2 Kings 25:9-10 records the fulfillment of that prediction. My children has reference to the citizens of Jerusalem Who were taken by the Babylonians and 2 Kings 24:14 shows us fulfillment. Tent and curtains are used In the same sense as tabernacle and cords in the beginning of the verse.

Jeremiah 10:21

Jeremiah 10:21. Pastors is from a word that means rulers and feeders, and applies especially to the priests to whom was given the twofold duty of ruling, and feeding spiritual knowledge. (See Jeremiah 5:31 and Malachi 2:7.) But these pastors who were expected to acquire and teach knowledge had become brutish which is defined “stupid” in the lexicon. A pastor or shepherd who becomes uninformed or stupid will not be aware of approaching danger and as a result his flock may be scattered from him. Such was soon to be the lot of these pastors in Judah, for the Babylonians were going to take possession of the flock (citizens of Jerusalem) and drive ft away to a strange fold beyond the Euphrates River.

Jeremiah 10:22

Jeremiah 10:22. Bruit is now an obsolete word in the English language. In this verse it is from and Strong defines it, “Something heard, i.e., an announcement.” It represents the prophet as hearing a sound or rumor that is not favorable for his people, for it Is the sound of the army of Babylon that soon will be marching down upon the country. The sound Is coming from the north, which is explained by the note and comments at Isaiah 14:31 in Vol. 3 of this Commentary. Making the cities a den of dragons refers to the unthinkable condition they will be in after the captivity.

Jeremiah 10:23

Jeremiah 10:23. The prophet is much impressed at the helplessness of man. especially as it pertains to questions of proper living. Had his fellow countrymen realized that truth and acted accordingly the war clouds now approaching would never have arisen.

Jeremiah 10:24

Jeremiah 10:24. Jeremiah personally was righteous but the prayer he utters is on behalf of the people of Judah. And the prayer is a kind of prediction that the nation is to be corrected in a foreign land but with judgment. Not in thine anger is not absolule for other passages tell us that God’s anger was kindled against his people which caused him to decree the captivity upon them. The idea is that a limit would be observed in the treatment administered so that a remnant would be saved and the nation would not be brought to nothing.

Jeremiah 10:25

Jeremiah 10:25. Jeremiah personally doubtless felt incensed against the heathen nation that was soon coming against his beloved country, but the passage is also a prediction of the vengeance that God would take on the very instrument that he had chosen by which to chastise his disobedient people, because of the cruelty with which they did their service and because of the satisfaction they got from the sufferings of Judah.