Jeremiah 10:7

10:1-16 The prophet shows the glory of Israel's God, and exposes the folly of idolaters. Charms and other attempts to obtain supernatural help, or to pry into futurity, are copied from the wicked customs of the heathen. Let us stand in awe, and not dare provoke God, by giving that glory to another which is due to him alone. He is ready to forgive, and save all who repent and believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. Faith learns these blessed truths from the word of God; but all knowledge not from that source, leads to doctrines of vanity.

Who would not fear thee, O King of nations?.... Not that the fear of him among the nations was general, or that he was owned by them as their King; but inasmuch as of right he was their King, so he ought to have been feared and reverenced by them; and it was an instance of great stupidity and ingratitude not to do it. The Targum renders it, "King of all people;'' and the Syriac version, "King of all worlds"; some reference seems to be had to this passage in Revelation 15:3, where, instead of "King of nations", the Lord is called "King of saints"; and there refers to a time when he will be feared, that is, worshipped and served by all nations, as he ought to be: for to thee doth it appertain; that is, fear belongs to him, it is his due; and this, with keeping the commandments of God, is the whole duty of man. The Vulgate Latin version is, "thine is the glory"; honour or praise, as the Syriac version; and so Jarchi interprets it of beauty or glory; but the Targum, "thine is the kingdom;'' and so Kimchi; and to which agrees the Arabic version.

Forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee; that is, among all the wise kings of the nations, and all their wise counsellors, there is none like unto God for wisdom, or for glory and majesty; there is none of them that has such a kingdom as he has, or that governs it as he does; and as all their power and government, so all that wisdom by which they manage their political affairs, are from him.

Verse 7. - O King of nations . As time went on, the sacred writers became more and more distinct in their assertions of the truth that Jehovah, the Self-revealing God, is not Israel's King only, but also of the world (comp. Psalm 22:28 ; Psalm 47:7, 8 ; Psalm 96:10 ). To thee doth it appertain ; viz. that men should fear thee. Forasmuch as, etc. (see above, on Ver. 6). Among all the wise men . "Men" is supplied, but doubtless rightly. It is a contest - how unequal a one! - between Jehovah and the sages of the heathen (comp. "Yet he also is wise," Isaiah 31:2 ). Jeremiah 10:7

(7) King of nations. —Emphatically, “King of the heathen” expressing the universal sovereignty of Jehovah in contrast with the thought that He was the God of the Jews only. (Compare Romans 3:29 .) To thee doth it appertain.—Better, for it is thine, i.e., the kingdom over the heathen implied in the title just given. The wise men.—The word “men” is better omitted. Jehovah is not compared with the sages of the heathen only, but with all to whom they looked as sources and givers of wisdom. In all their kingdoms.—Better, in all their sovereignty.

Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? he is called a great King, Malachi 1:14 : q.d. Thou, by whom all nations are governed, and all affairs in them disposed, and by none else, who would worship any but thee, or be afraid of any but thee, seeing it is fit for, and therefore can belong to, none besides? as in the next words; it is thy right and due. Or, Who can be so stupid as not to acknowledge one Supreme Being, and this to be but one? as, among the heathens, Socrates, Plato, Seneca, and divers others did; and therefore is it not a prodigious thing that any should so withhold the truth in unrighteousness, be so gross as to worship many gods? Among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee: q.d. If you search among all their wise men and philosophers, all the great men and rulers, in their kingdoms; for these the heathens were wont to worship as gods after death, wise men for their wisdom, and kings for their power; you will find none to compare with God, either for wisdom or power; their wise men are but as so many fools.

7. (Re 15:4). to thee doth it appertain—to Thee it properly belongs, namely, that Thou shouldest be "feared" (taken out of the previous "fear Thee") (compare Eze 21:27). He alone is the becoming object of worship. To worship any other is unseemly and an infringement of His inalienable prerogative. none—nothing whatever (see on [905]Jer 10:6; Ps 89:6).

The almighty power of Jahveh, the living God. - Jeremiah 10:6 . "None at all is like Thee, Jahveh; great art Thou, and Thy name is great in might. Jeremiah 10:7 . Who would not fear Thee, Thou King of the peoples? To Thee doth it appertain; for among all the wise men of the peoples, and in all their kingdoms, there is none at all like unto Thee. Jeremiah 10:8 . But they are all together brutish and foolish; the teaching of the vanities is wood. Jeremiah 10:9 . Beaten silver, from Tarshish it is brought, and gold from Uphaz, work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; blue and red purple is their clothing; the work of cunning workmen are they all. Jeremiah 10:10 . But Jahveh is God in truth, He is living God and everlasting King; at His wrath the earth trembles, and the peoples abide not His indignation. Jeremiah 10:11 . Thus shall ye say unto them: The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens." In this second strophe Jahveh is contrasted, as the only true God and Lord of the world, with the lifeless gods. These there is no need to fear, but it behoves all to fear the almighty God, since in His wrath He can destroy nations. When compared with Psalm 86:8, the מן in מאין seems redundant - so much so, that Ven. pronounces it a copyist's error, and Hitz. sets it aside by changing the vowels.

The word as it stands contains a double negation, and is usually found only in dependent clauses with a strong negative force: so that there is none. Here it has the same force, but at the beginning of the sentence: none at all is as Thou; cf. Ew. 323, a. Great is Thy name, i.e., the manifestation of Thee in the world, in Thy government of the earth. "In (or with) might" belongs to "great:" great with might, displaying itself in acts of might; cf. Jeremiah 16:21. Who would not fear Thee? a negative setting of the thought: every one must fear Thee. King of the nations; cf. Psalm 22:29; Psalm 47:8; Psalm 96:10. יאתה from יאה, ἁπ. λεγ.. equivalent to נאה (whence נאוה), to be seemly, suitable. Among the wise men of the peoples none is like Thee, so as that any should be able to make head against Thee by any clever stroke; cf. Isaiah 19:12; Isaiah 29:14. Nor is there in any kingdom of the peoples any one like Jahveh, i.e., in might. It is not merely earthly kings that are meant, but the gods of the heathen as well. In no heathen kingdom is there any power to be compared with Jahveh.