Jeremiah 10:11–15
The NET BibleOther versions
English
- NET The NET Bible
- DARBY 1890 Darby Bible
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- AV 1873 The Cambridge Paragraph Bible of the Authorized English Version
- CSB Christian Standard Bible
- D-R Douay-Rheims Bible
- ESV English Standard Version
- GW GOD’S WORD Translation
- GNB Good News Translation
- HCSB The Holman Christian Standard Bible
- KJV 1900 King James Version
- LSB Legacy Standard Bible
- LEB The Lexham English Bible
- MSG The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language
- NASB95 New American Standard Bible (1995)
- NCV New Century Version
- NIrV New International Reader’s Version (1998)
- NIV New International Version (2011)
- NKJV The New King James Version
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- NRSVue New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition
- RSV The Revised Standard Version
- RSVCE The Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition
- YLT Young’s Literal Translation
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10:11You people of Israel should tell those nations this:
‘These gods did not make heaven and earth.
They will disappear22 from the earth and from under the heavens.’23
10:12The Lord is the one who24 by his power made the earth.
He is the one who by his wisdom established the world.
And by his understanding he spread out the skies.
10:13When his voice thunders,25 the heavenly ocean roars.
He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons.26
He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain.
He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it.27
10:14All these idolaters28 will prove to be stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made.
For the image he forges is merely a sham.29
There is no breath in any of those idols.30
10:15They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked.31
When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.
Footnotes
- 22 Aram “The gods who did not make … earth will disappear …” The sentence is broken up in the translation to avoid a long, complex English sentence in conformity with contemporary English style.
- 23 This verse is in Aramaic. It is the only Aramaic sentence in Jeremiah. Scholars debate the appropriateness of this verse to this context. Many see it as a gloss added by a postexilic scribe which was later incorporated into the text. Both R. E. Clendenen (“Discourse Strategies in Jeremiah 10,” 106 [1987]: ) and W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:, ) have given detailed arguments that the passage is not only original but the climax and center of the contrast between the Lord and idols in vv. 2–16. Holladay shows that the passage is a very carefully constructed chiasm (see accompanying study note) which argues that “these” at the end is the subject of the verb “will disappear” not the attributive adjective modifying heaven. He also makes a very good case that the verse is poetry and not prose as it is rendered in the majority of modern English versions. This passage is carefully structured and placed to contrast the Lord who is living and eternal (v. 10) and made the heavens and earth (v. 12) with the idols who did not and will disappear. It also has a very careful concentric structure in the original text where “the gods” is balanced by “these,” “heavens” is balance by “from under the heavens,” “the earth” is balanced by “from the earth,” and “did not make” is balanced and contrasted in the very center by “will disappear.” The structure is further reinforced by the sound play/wordplay between “did not make” (Aram לָא עֲבַדוּ [la’ ’avadu]) and “will disappear” (Aram יֵאבַדוּ [ye’vadu]). This is the rhetorical climax of Jeremiah’s sarcastic attack on the folly of idolatry.
- 24 The words “The Lord is” are not in the text. They are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation here because of the possible confusion of who the subject is due to the parenthetical address to the people of Israel in v. 11. The first two verbs are participles and should not merely be translated as the narrative past. They are predicate nominatives of an implied copula intending to contrast the Lord as the one who made the earth with the idols which did not.
- 25 Heb “At the voice of his giving.” The idiom “to give the voice” is often used for thunder (cf. 679 נָתַן Qal.1.x).
- 26 Heb “from the ends of the earth.”
- 27 Heb “he brings out the winds from his storehouses.”
- 28 Heb “Every man.” But in the context this is not a reference to all people without exception but to all idolaters. The referent is made explicit for the sake of clarity.
- 29 Or “nothing but a phony god”; Heb “a lie/falsehood.”
- 30 Heb “There is no breath in them.” The referent is made explicit so that no one will mistakenly take it to refer to the idolaters or goldsmiths.
- 31 Or “objects of mockery.”
The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press
In other versions
ESVEnglish Standard Version
Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”
It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles
NIVNew International Version (2011)
“Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’ ”
But God made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;
they have no breath in them.
They are worthless, the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.
CSBChristian Standard Bible
You are to say this to them: “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”
He made the earth by his power,
established the world by his wisdom,
and spread out the heavens by his understanding.
When he thunders,
the waters in the heavens are in turmoil,
and he causes the clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from his storehouses.
Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame
by his carved image,
for his cast images are a lie;
there is no breath in them.
They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment
they will be destroyed.
Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
NLTNew Living Translation
Say this to those who worship other gods: “Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish from the earth and from under the heavens.”
But the Lord made the earth by his power,
and he preserves it by his wisdom.
With his own understanding
he stretched out the heavens.
When he speaks in the thunder,
the heavens roar with rain.
He causes the clouds to rise over the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain
and releases the wind from his storehouses.
The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge!
The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make,
for their carefully shaped works are a fraud.
These idols have no breath or power.
Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies!
On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
LEBThe Lexham English Bible
“Thus you shall say to them,
‘Gods who did not make the heavens and the earth
will perish from the earth and from under these heavens.
He is the maker of the earth by his power,
who created the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding he stretched out heaven.
When he utters his voice there is a noise of water in the heavens,
and he causes the mist to rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he causes the wind to go out from his storehouses.
Everyone is stupid, without knowledge,
every goldsmith is ashamed by his divine image,
for his cast image is an illusion,
and there is no breath in them.
They are vanity, a work of mockery,
at the time of their punishment, they will perish.
Copyright 2012 Lexham Press
KJV 1900King James Version
Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
He hath made the earth by his power,
He hath established the world by his wisdom,
And hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens,
And he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth;
He maketh lightnings with rain,
And bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
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.
They are vanity, and the work of errors:
In the time of their visitation they shall perish.
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