Jeremiah 16:20

20 Can mortals manufacture gods? Their factories turn out no-gods!

Jeremiah 16:20 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 16:20

Shall a man make gods unto himself
Can a man make his own gods? a poor, weak, mortal man? can he make gods of gold, silver, brass, wood, or stone? can he put deity into them? and when he has made images of these, can he be so stupid as to account them gods, and worship them? can he be so sottish, and void of understanding, as to imagine that anything that is made by himself or any other, can be God? and they are no gods;
that are made by men; he only is the true God, that is the Maker and Creator of all things; or they are no gods themselves that pretend to make them, and therefore how should they make gods? can they give that which they have not? or impart deity to others which they have not themselves? These words are a continuation of the speech of the Gentiles, and contain their reasonings, exposing the folly of their idolatrous ancestors: though some take them to be the words of God, or of the prophet, inveighing against the Jews for their stupidity in worshipping idols; when the Gentiles were convinced of the folly and vanity of such practices, and acknowledged it.

Jeremiah 16:20 In-Context

18 "They won't get by with a thing. They'll pay double for everything they did wrong. They've made a complete mess of things, littering their lives with their obscene no-gods, leaving piles of stinking god-junk all over the place."
19 God, my strength, my stronghold, my safe retreat when trouble descends: The godless nations will come from earth's four corners, saying, "Our ancestors lived on lies, useless illusions, all smoke."
20 Can mortals manufacture gods? Their factories turn out no-gods!
21 "Watch closely now. I'm going to teach these wrongheaded people. Starting right now, I'm going to teach them Who I am and what I do, teach them the meaning of my name, God - 'I Am.'
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.