Jeremiah 10:16
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The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance— the LORD of Hosts is His name.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
We may conjecture that the prophecy of this chapter was delivered after the first captivity, in the time of Jeconiah or Jehoiachin, when many were carried away to Babylon; for it has a double reference: - I. To those that were carried away into the land of the Chaldeans, a country notorious above any other for idolatry and superstition; and they are here cautioned against the infection of the place, not to learn the way of the heathen (Jer 10:1, Jer 10:2), for their astrology and idolatry are both foolish things (Jer 10:3-5), and the worshippers of idols brutish (Jer 10:8, Jer 10:9). So it will appear in the day of their visitation (Jer 10:14, Jer 10:15). They are likewise exhorted to adhere firmly to the God of Israel, for there is none like him (Jer 10:6, Jer 10:7). He is the true God, lives for ever, and has the government of the world (Jer 10:10-13), and his people are happy in him (Jer 10:16). II. To those that yet remained in their own land. They are cautioned against security, and told to expect distress (Jer 10:17, Jer 10:18) and that by a foreign enemy, which God would bring upon them for their sin (Jer 10:20-22). This calamity the prophet laments (Jer 10:19) and prays for the mitigation of it (Jer 10:23-25).
Open source ↗10:16 the God of Israel: Literally the Portion of Jacob. The Hebrew idiom suggests that God himself is everything the people need. The God of Israel is not to be compared to pagan deities. As the Creator, God selected the people of Israel, rescued them from Egypt, and brought them into Canaan; the Lord redeemed them from slavery to make them his chosen people.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.
You show loving devotion to thousands but lay the iniquity of the fathers into the laps of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of Hosts,
Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:
The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and of the tribe of His inheritance— the LORD of Hosts is His name.
The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
The LORD is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words.
Remember Your congregation, which You purchased long ago and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance— Mount Zion where You dwell.
For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own, Israel as His treasured possession.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.