New English Translation
Jeremiah 51:18
18They are worthless, objects to be ridiculed. When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.
Jeremiah 51:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
- New International Version (NIV)They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish.
- English Standard Version (ESV)They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
- New King James Version (NKJV)They are futile, a work of errors; In the time of their punishment they shall perish.
Context of Jeremiah 51:18
16When his voice thunders, the waters in the heavens roar. He makes the clouds rise from the far-off horizons. He makes the lightning flash out in the midst of the rain. He unleashes the wind from the places where he stores it. 17All idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols. They are worthless, objects to be ridiculed. When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed. 19The Lord, who is the portion of the descendants of Jacob, is not like them. For he is the one who created everything, including the people of Israel whom he claims as his own. He is known as the Lord who rules over all. 20“Babylon, you are my war club, my weapon for battle. I used you to smash nations. I used you to destroy kingdoms.
Read all of Jeremiah 51Jeremiah 51:18 word by word
הֶ֣בֶל הֵ֔מָּה מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה תַּעְתֻּעִ֑ים בְּעֵ֥ת פְּקֻדָּתָ֖ם יֹאבֵֽדוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 51:18
- Jeremiah 10:8The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless!
- Jonah 2:8Those who worship worthless idols forfeit the mercy that could be theirs.
- Acts 14:15“Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men, with human natures just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you, so that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.
- Jeremiah 43:12He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt. He will burn their gods or carry them off as captives. He will pick Egypt clean like a shepherd picks the lice from his clothing. He will leave there unharmed.
- Jeremiah 46:25The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes. I will punish Egypt, its gods, and its kings. I will punish Pharaoh and all who trust in him.
- Jeremiah 48:7“Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches. So you too will be conquered. Your god Chemosh will go into exile along with his priests and his officials.
- Jeremiah 50:2“Announce the news among the nations! Proclaim it! Signal for people to pay attention! Declare the news! Do not hide it! Say: ‘Babylon will be captured. Bel will be put to shame. Marduk will be dismayed. Babylon’s idols will be put to shame. Her disgusting images will be dismayed.
- Exodus 12:12I will pass through the land of Egypt in the same night, and I will attack all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of humans and of animals, and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord.
- Isaiah 19:1Here is a message about Egypt: Look, the Lord rides on a swift-moving cloud and approaches Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him; the Egyptians lose their courage.
- Isaiah 46:1Bel kneels down, Nebo bends low. Their images weigh down animals and beasts. Your heavy images are burdensome to tired animals.
- Zephaniah 2:11The Lord will terrify them, for he will weaken all the gods of the earth. All the distant nations will worship the Lord in their own lands.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 51:18
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-19Verses 15-19 A transcript of Jeremiah 10:12-16.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-19This song of praise highlights the Lord's uniqueness and greatness. It compares the true God with the emptiness of idols.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-1915-19. Repeated from Jr 10:12-16; except that "Israel" is not in the Hebrew of Jr 51:19, which ought, therefore, to be translated, "He is the Former of all things, and (therefore) of the rod of His inheritance" (that is, of the nation peculiarly His own). In Jr 10:1-25 the contrast is between the idols and God; here it is between the power of populous Babylon and that of God: "Thou dwellest upon many waters" (Jr 51:13); but God can, by merely "uttering…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 51:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 51
- 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
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Commentaries