Jeremiah 14:22

22 Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.

Jeremiah 14:22 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.
English Standard Version (ESV)
22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are you not he, O LORD our God? We set our hope on you, for you do all these things.
New Living Translation (NLT)
22 Can any of the worthless foreign gods send us rain? Does it fall from the sky by itself? No, you are the one, O LORD our God! Only you can do such things. So we will wait for you to help us.
The Message Bible (MSG)
22 Can the no-gods of the godless nations cause rain? Can the sky water the earth by itself? You're the one, O God, who does this. So you're the one for whom we wait. You made it all, you do it all.
American Standard Version (ASV)
22 Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Jehovah our God? therefore we will wait for thee; for thou hast made all these things.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
22 The worthless gods of the nations can't make it rain. By themselves, the skies can't give showers. But you can, O LORD our God. We have hope in you because you do all these things.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
22 Can any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Or can the skies alone give showers? Are You not the Lord our God? We therefore put our hope in You, for You have done all these things.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
22 Do any of the worthless gods of the nations bring rain? Do the skies send down showers all by themselves? No. LORD our God, you send the rain. So we put our hope in you. You are the one who does all of those things.

Jeremiah 14:22 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 14:22

Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can
cause rain?
&c.] The blessing wanted; none of the idols of the Gentiles, called vanities, because it was a vain thing to apply to them, or hope for anything from them, none of these could give a shower of rain; though the name of one of their idols was Jupiter Imbrius F21, or Pluvius, the god of rain, yet he could not make nor give a single drop; as Baal, in the times of Ahab, when there was a drought, could not. Or can the heavens give showers?
from whence they descend, and which are the second causes of rain; even these could not of themselves, and much less Heathen deities. Art not thou he, O Lord our God?
the everlasting and unchangeable He, or I AM, our covenant God and Father, thou, and thou only, canst give rain; this is the peculiar of the great God himself; see ( Acts 14:17 ) . Therefore we will wait upon thee;
for rain, by prayer and supplication, and hope for it, and wait the Lord's own time to give it: for thou hast made all these things;
the rain and its showers, who have no other father than the Lord, ( Job 38:28 ) , also the heavens from whence it descends, and the earth on which it falls, are made by him, who restrains and gives it at pleasure.


FOOTNOTES:

F21 Pausanias makes mention of an image of Jupiter Pluvius, and of altars erected to him in various places; Attica, sive l. 1. p. 60. Corinthiaca, sive l. 2. p. 119. Boeotica, sive l. 9. p. 602. and in India, as Apollonius Tyanaeus relates, in Vit. Philostrat. l. 3. c. 2. in fine, was a tub, which in time of drought they opened; from whence, as they pretended, clouds came forth and watered all the country. Near Rome was a stone called Lapis Manalis, which being brought into the city, was said to cause rain. A like fable is told of water being in the forehead of Jupiter Lycaeus, which being shook by an oaken branch in the hand of a priest, gathered clouds, and produced plentiful showers of rain when wanted; but these, with others, are all fables and lies. See Alex. ab Alex Genial. Dier. l. 4. c. 16.

Jeremiah 14:22 In-Context

20 We acknowledge our wickedness, LORD, and the guilt of our ancestors; we have indeed sinned against you.
21 For the sake of your name do not despise us; do not dishonor your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.

Cross References 3

  • 1. S Isaiah 41:24; S Isaiah 44:10; Jeremiah 10:15; Jeremiah 16:19; Habakkuk 2:18
  • 2. S 1 Kings 8:36; S Psalms 135:7
  • 3. S Isaiah 43:10
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