Jeremiah 10:20

20 My house is ruined - the roof caved in. Our children are gone - we'll never see them again. No one left to help in rebuilding, no one to make a new start!

Jeremiah 10:20 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 10:20

My tabernacle is spoiled
Not the temple at Jerusalem only, rather Jerusalem itself, as Kimchi; or the whole land, as the Targum,

``my land is wasted:''
the allusion is to the tents of shepherds, and denotes the unstable condition of the Jewish nation: and all my cords are broken:
all the rest of the cities of the land are destroyed, as Kimchi; and so the Targum,
``my cities are spoiled:''
as the cords are what the parts of the tabernacle or tent are fastened and kept together with, they may intend the strength of the nation, which lay in its wealth, its fortresses, and the numbers of its people, now weakened, loosed, and broke. My children are gone forth of me;
into captivity, as the Targum interprets it; the prophet, representing Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah. The Septuagint adds, "and my sheep"; keeping on the metaphor of a shepherd, his tent, and flock. And they are not;
either not in the world, being destroyed by one judgment or another; or rather not in their own land, being carried captive. There is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my
curtains;
which shows the great destruction and desolation of the land, and its inhabitants, that there would be none to set up a shepherd's tent; perhaps the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the rest of the cities, may be meant.

Jeremiah 10:20 In-Context

18 God has given notice: "Attention! I'm evicting Everyone who lives here, And right now - yes, right now! I'm going to press them to the limit, squeeze the life right out of them."
19 But it's a black day for me! Hopelessly wounded, I said, "Why, oh why did I think I could bear it?"
20 My house is ruined - the roof caved in. Our children are gone - we'll never see them again. No one left to help in rebuilding, no one to make a new start!
21 It's because our leaders are stupid. They never asked God for counsel, And so nothing worked right. The people are scattered all over.
22 But listen! Something's coming! A big commotion from the northern borders! Judah's towns about to be smashed, left to all the stray dogs and cats!
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.