God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 10:23
23O Lord, I know that the way humans act is not under their control. Humans do not direct their steps as they walk.
Jeremiah 10:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
- New International Version (NIV)Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
- New King James Version (NKJV)O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
Context of Jeremiah 10:23
21The shepherds are foolish. They don’t look to the Lord for help. That is why they won’t succeed, and all their flocks will be scattered. 22The report has arrived. A tremendous uproar is coming from the land of the north. Its army will destroy Judah’s cities and make them homes for jackals. O Lord, I know that the way humans act is not under their control. Humans do not direct their steps as they walk. 24Correct me, O Lord, but please be fair. Don’t correct me when you’re angry. Otherwise, you’ll reduce me to nothing. 25Pour out your fury on the nations who don’t know you and on people who don’t worship you. They have devoured the descendants of Jacob. They have devoured them completely. They have destroyed their homes.
Read all of Jeremiah 10Jeremiah 10:23 word by word
יָדַ֣עְתִּי יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֛י לֹ֥א לָאָדָ֖ם דַּרְכּ֑וֹ לֹֽא־לְאִ֣ישׁ הֹלֵ֔ךְ וְהָכִ֖ין אֶֽת־צַעֲדֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 10:23
- Psalms 17:5my steps have remained firmly in your paths. My feet have not slipped.
- Psalms 37:23A person’s steps are directed by the Lord, and the Lord delights in his way.
- Psalms 119:116Help me God, as you promised, so that I may live. Do not turn my hope into disappointment.
- Proverbs 16:1The plans of the heart belong to humans, but an answer on the tongue comes from the Lord.
- Proverbs 20:24The Lord is the one who directs a person’s steps. How then can anyone understand his own way?
Commentaries on Jeremiah 10:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself - I will not pretend to dispute with thee; thou dost every thing wisely and justly; we have sinned, and thou hast a right to punish; and to choose that sort of punishment thou thinkest will best answer the ends of justice. We cannot choose; thou hast appointed us to captivity; we must not repine: yet,Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19-25Verses 19-25 The lamentation of the daughter of Zion, the Jewish Church, at the devastation of the land, and her humble prayer to God for mercy. Jeremiah 10:19 Grievous - Rather, “mortal,” i. e., fatal, incurable. A grief - Or, “my grief.” Jeremiah 10:20 tabernacle - i. e., “tent.” Jerusalem laments that her tent is plundered and her children carried into exile, and so “are not,” are dead Matthew 2:18, either absolutely, or dead to her in the remote land…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-25Verses 17-25 The Jews who continued in their own land, felt secure. But, sooner or later, sinners will find all things as the word of God has declared, and that its threatenings are not empty terrors. Submission will support the believer under every grief allotted to him; but what can render the load of Divine vengeance easy to be borne by those who fall under it in sullen despair? Those cannot expect to prosper, who do not, by faith and prayer, take God…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-25Jeremiah asked the Lord to unleash His anger not only on Judah but also on the nations that destroyed Israel. See Isaiah 26:9–11 and Habakkuk 1:17. These other kingdoms were so brutal that they turned the countryside into a barren wasteland. Jeremiah 10:25 quotes Psalm 79:6–7.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. Despairing of influencing the people, he turns to God. way of man not in himself--(Pr 16:1; 20:24; Jas 4:13, 14). I know, O Jehovah, that the march of the Babylonian conqueror against me (Jeremiah identifying himself with his people) is not at his own discretion, but is overruled by Thee (Is 10:5-7; compare Jr 10:19). that walketh--when he walketh, that is, sets out in any undertaking. direct ... steps--to give a prosperous issue to (Psa 73:23).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 10:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 10
- 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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