Jeremiah 16:20

Jeremiah 16:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?
• New International Version (NIV)Do people make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Can man make for himself gods? Such are not gods!"
• New King James Version (NKJV)Will a man make gods for himself, Which are not gods?

Context of Jeremiah 16:20

18I will first doubly repay and punish them for their wickedness and their sin [before I return them to their land], because they have profaned My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable idols and with their abominations.” 19[Then said Jeremiah] “O Lord, my Strength and my Stronghold, And my Refuge in the day of distress and need, The nations will come to You From the ends of the earth and say, ‘Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies and illusion, [Worthless] things in which there is no benefit!’ Can a man make gods for himself? Such [things] are not gods! 21“Therefore,” [says the Lord] “behold, I will make them know— This time I will make them know My power and My might; And they will know and recognize [without any doubt] that My Name is the Lord.”

Jeremiah 16:20 word by word

הֲיַעֲשֶׂה־לּ֥וֹ אָדָ֖ם אֱלֹהִ֑ים וְהֵ֖מָּה לֹ֥א אֱלֹהִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Shall a manאָדָם'âdâm · manH120
• makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Jeremiah 16:20

• Psalms 115:4The idols [of the nations] are silver and gold, The work of man’s hands.
• Psalms 135:14For the Lord will judge His people And He will have compassion on His servants [revealing His mercy].
• Isaiah 36:19Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad [in Aram]? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? And when have they rescued Samaria from my hand?
• Isaiah 37:19and have cast the gods [of those peoples] into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they have destroyed them.
• Hosea 8:4They set up kings, but not from Me [therefore without My blessing]; They have appointed princes, but I did not know it. With their silver and their gold they made idols for themselves, That they might be cut off.
• Acts 19:26You see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but almost all over [the province of] Asia, this Paul has persuaded [people to believe his teaching] and has misled a large number of people, claiming that gods made by [human] hands are not really gods at all.
• Galatians 1:8But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we [originally] preached to you, let him be condemned to destruction!
• Galatians 4:8But at that time, when you did not know [the true] God and were unacquainted with Him, you [Gentiles] were slaves to those [pagan] things which by [their very] nature were not and could not be gods at all.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 16:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Shall a man make gods unto himself? - Can any be so silly, and so preposterously absurd? Yes, fallen man is capable of any thing that is base, mean, vile, and wicked, till influenced and converted by the grace of Christ.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-21Verses 14-21 The restoration from the Babylonish captivity would be remembered in place of the deliverance from Egypt; it also typified spiritual redemption, and the future deliverance of the church from antichristian oppression. But none of the sins of sinners can be hidden from God, or shall be overlooked by him. He will find out and raise up instruments of his wrath, that shall destroy the Jews, by fraud like fishers, by force like hunters. The…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-20Jeremiah worshiped the Lord for protecting him during difficult times and providing salvation to people worldwide.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-2019-20. The result of God's judgments on the Jews will be that both the Jews when restored, and the Gentiles who have witnessed those judgments, shall renounce idolatry for the worship of Jehovah. Fulfilled partly at the return from Babylon, after which the Jews entirely renounced idols, and many proselytes were gathered in from the Gentiles, but not to be realized in its fulness till the final restoration of Israel (Is 2:1-17).Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 16:20

• Church
• Gentiles
• Idolatry

In the dictionaries

• Eschatology of the Old Testament
• Gods
• save, saved, safe, salvation, rescue

Commentaries on Jeremiah 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings