New Living Translation
Jeremiah 51:18
18Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the day of reckoning they will all 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 he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses. 17The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge! The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make, for their carefully shaped works are a fraud. These idols have no breath or power. Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies! On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed. 19But the God of Israel is no idol! He is the Creator of everything that exists, including his people, his own special possession. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name! 20“You are my battle-ax and sword,” says the Lord. “With you I will shatter nations and destroy many 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 10:8People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood!
- Jonah 2:8Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies.
- Acts 14:15“Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.
- Jeremiah 43:12He will set fire to the temples of Egypt’s gods; he will burn the temples and carry the idols away as plunder. He will pick clean the land of Egypt as a shepherd picks fleas from his cloak. And he himself will leave unharmed.
- Jeremiah 46:25The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes, and all the other gods of Egypt. I will punish its rulers and Pharaoh, too, and all who trust in him.
- Jeremiah 48:7Because you have trusted in your wealth and skill, you will be taken captive. Your god Chemosh, with his priests and officials, will be hauled off to distant lands!
- Jeremiah 50:2This is what the Lord says: “Tell the whole world, and keep nothing back. Raise a signal flag to tell everyone that Babylon will fall! Her images and idols will be shattered. Her gods Bel and Marduk will be utterly disgraced.
- Exodus 12:12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord!
- Isaiah 19:1This message came to me concerning Egypt: Look! The Lord is advancing against Egypt, riding on a swift cloud. The idols of Egypt tremble. The hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear.
- Isaiah 46:1Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon, bow as they are lowered to the ground. They are being hauled away on ox carts. The poor beasts stagger under the weight.
- Zephaniah 2:11The Lord will terrify them as he destroys all the gods in the land. Then nations around the world will worship the Lord, each in their own land.
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
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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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