Jeremiah 10:11

11 Therefore thus ye shall say to them, Gods that made not heaven and earth, perish from the earth, and from these things that be under heaven. (And so ye shall say this to them, The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth, shall perish from the earth, and from these things that be under the heavens.)

Jeremiah 10:11 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 10:11

Thus shall ye say unto them
The godly Jews to the idolatrous Chaldeans; and therefore this verse alone is written in the Chaldee language. The Targum prefaces it thus,

``this is the copy of the letter, which Jeremiah the prophet sent to the rest of the elders of the captivity in Babylon; and if the people among whom you are should say unto you, serve idols, O house of Israel; then shall ye answer, and so shall ye say unto them, the idols whom ye serve are errors, in whom there is no profit; from heaven they cannot bring down rain, and out of the earth they cannot produce fruit:''

so Jarchi observes: it follows in the text, the gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall
perish from the earth, and from under these heavens;
which the Targum paraphrases thus,

``they and their worshippers shall perish from the earth, and shall be consumed from under these heavens.''

The words may be considered as a prediction that so it would be; or as an imprecation that so it might be, and be read, "let the gods"; and considered either way, being put into the mouth of the godly Jews in Babylon, to be openly pronounced by them in the midst of idolaters, and in answer to them, when they should be enticed to idolatry, show how open and ingenuous men should be in the profession of the true God, and his religion and worship: and it may be observed, against the deniers of the true deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, that if he is not that God that made the heavens and the earth, he lies under this imprecation or prediction.

Jeremiah 10:11 In-Context

9 Silver wrapped is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz (Silver beaten into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Ophir); it is the work of a craftsman, and of the hand(s) of a worker in metal; jacinth and purple be the clothing of them; all these things be the work of workmen.

10 Forsooth the Lord is very God; he is God living, and a king everlasting; the earth shall be moved together of his indignation, and heathen men shall not (be able to) suffer the menacing of him. (For the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, and the everlasting King; the earth shall be altogether shaken by his indignation, and the heathen shall not be able to suffer his threats.)

11 Therefore thus ye shall say to them, Gods that made not heaven and earth, perish from the earth, and from these things that be under heaven. (And so ye shall say this to them, The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth, shall perish from the earth, and from these things that be under the heavens.)

12 He is God, that maketh the earth in his strength, that maketh ready the world in his wisdom, and stretcheth forth (the) heavens by his prudence. (He is God, who maketh the earth by his strength, who prepareth the world by his wisdom, and who stretcheth forth the heavens by his prudence, or by his knowledge.)

13 At his voice he giveth the multitude of waters in (the) heaven(s), and he raiseth [up] mists from the ends of (the) earth; he maketh lightnings into rain, and leadeth out wind of his treasures/of his treasuries (and leadeth forth the wind from his storehouses).