Jeremiah 10:12

12 It is 1He who made the earth by His power, Who 2established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has 3stretched out the heavens.

Jeremiah 10:12 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 10:12

He hath made the earth by his power
The Targum considers these words as a continuation of the answer of the Jews to the Chaldeans, paraphrasing them thus,

``and so shall ye say unto them, `we worship him who hath made the earth by his power':''
who stands opposed to the gods that made not the heavens and the earth, that had no title to deity, nor right to worship; but the true God has both; and his making the earth out of nothing, and hanging it upon nothing, and preserving it firm and stable, are proofs of his almighty power, and so of his deity; and consequently that he ought to be worshipped, and he only. He hath established the world by his wisdom;
upon the rivers and floods; or he hath poised it in the air; or he hath disposed it in an orderly, regular, and beautiful manner, as the word F21 used signifies; by making it terraqueous, partly land, and partly water; by opening in it fountains and rivers; by diversifying it with hills and vales, with wood and arable land; all which show the wisdom as well as the power of God. And hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion;
as a canopy over the earth, as a tent to dwell in; and which is beautifully bespangled with the luminaries in it; hence it has the name of expanse, or the firmament of heaven.
FOOTNOTES:

F21 (Nykm) "aptavit", Cocceius; "preparans", Schmidt; a (Nwk) "aptavit, disposuit", Gussetius.

Jeremiah 10:12 In-Context

10 But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation.
11 Thus you shall say to them, "The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens."
12 It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.
13 When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses.
14 Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them.

Cross References 3

  • 1. Genesis 1:1, 6; Job 38:4-7; Psalms 136:5; Psalms 148:4, 5; Jeremiah 51:15, 19
  • 2. Psalms 78:69; Isaiah 45:18
  • 3. Job 9:8; Isaiah 40:22
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