Jeremiah 10:6

Jer 10:6 Forasmuch as [there is] none like unto thee, O LORD; thou [art] great, and thy name [is] great in might.

Ver. 6. Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee.] None of all these dii minutuli, these dunghill deities, are worthy to be named in the same day with thee.

Thou art great.] God is great; {Psa 77:13} greater; {Job 33:12} greatest; {Psa 95:3} greatness itself. {Psa 145:3} He is a degree above the superlative. Think the same of other his names and attributes, many of which we have here mentioned in this and the following verses; which are therefore highly to be prized, and oft to be perused. Leonard Lessius, a little before his death, finished his book concerning the fifty names of almighty God; often affirming, that in that little book he had found more light and spiritual support under those grievous fits of the stone which he suffered, than in all his voluminous commentaries upon Aquinas’s sums, which he had well nigh fitted for the press. {a}

{a} Ex Vita Lessii.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For as much as - Or, “No one is like unto thee, O Jehovah.” In Jer 10:6-11, the prophet contrasts God’s greatness with the impotence of idols.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Jer 10:6-7. Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee — This verse would be better rendered, O Lord, thou art great, so that there is none like unto thee, and thy name is great, because of thy might. Who would not fear thee? — Rather, who would not reverence, or stand in awe of thee? For to thee doth it appertain — That is, as some interpret the phrase, To thee doth it appertain to be feared and reverenced; to thee fear and reverence are due. The Hebrew, however, may be rendered, Who would not fear thee when he shall come, or draw near to thee? accordingly Blaney translates the verse thus: Who will not fear thee, O king of nations, when he shall approach unto thee? Forasmuch as among all the wisest of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee — On the clause, among the wisest of the nations, he observes, “These words may signify, either all those nations which were most distinguished for the cultivation and improvement of their rational faculties; or else those sage individuals among them, from whose learning and philosophy some better notions of God and religion might have been expected than from the rude and illiterate vulgar. And yet the fact was, that all their boasted wisdom and knowledge had failed of leading them to an object of worship, in any degree corresponding with the infinite perfections and majesty of the divine nature.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THE INCOMPARABLE JEHOVAH, Jer_10:6-11.

6. Forasmuch — A complete misapprehension of the force of the original, which is a double negative, doubtless employed for purposes of emphasis — none like unto thee. It is a fitting introduction to this strophe, (Jer_10:6-11,) in which the almighty power of God is set forth in contrast with these dumb idols.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10:6 there is no one like you! See Isa 40:21-31; 44:5-8.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He teacheth the people to lift up their eyes to God, who hath all power and therefore ought only to be feared: and herein he showeth them not only the evil that they ought to eschew: but the good which they ought to follow, Rev. 15:4.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

none--literally, "no particle of nothing": nothing whatever; the strongest possible denial (Exo 15:11; Psa 86:8, Psa 86:10).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

As the truth respecting the gods of the heathens, that they are mere figments, would be useless and of no moment, were not the knowledge of the, true God added, the Prophet now introduces God himself. And there is another reason; for no one could know that these wooden and stony gods are of no account, were not the truth respecting the true God to shine forth. Whosoever does not understand that there is a God, and does not know who or what he is, can never be really influenced by this truth, that the gods of the heathens are demons, and that all their superstitions are sacrilegious.

We now then perceive why the Prophet turns to the true God: it was, that the brightness of God’s glory might dissipate the darkness in which the Gentiles were involved, and also, that true religion might really influence the hearts of men, so that by acknowledging the one true God, to whose power we ought to submit, they might not only despise and repudiate all idols, but also hate and abhor them. The rest to-morrow.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(6) Forasmuch as.—A somewhat flat addition to the Hebrew text, which opens with a vigorous abruptness, None is there like unto thee . . .

Great in might.—The latter is an almost technical word (as in Isa_33:13; Psa_21:13; Psa_145:11) for the Divine Omnipotence. (Compare “the Mighty God” of Isa_9:6.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. There is none] This sense can only be got by omitting the first letter in MT. The omission can, however, be justified, as it may be an accidental repetition by a scribe of the last letter of Jer_10:5. Keeping the Hebrew consonants with a slight change of vowels, we get the sense “Whence is any like unto thee!” The same difficulty arises in Jer_10:7.

6–8. Omitted, most probably rightly, by LXX. See above.

6–16. See summary at commencement of the ch.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord,.... None like him, for the perfections of his nature, for the works of his hands, and for the instances of his kindness and beneficence, both in a way of grace and providence; there is none like him for doing good, or doing evil; that is, for bestowing favours, or inflicting punishments; there is none like him for goodness or greatness, as follows:

thou art great; in his nature; of great power, wisdom, faithfulness, truth, and goodness; and in his works of creation and providence, and in everything in which he is concerned; and greatness is to be ascribed to him, and greatly is he to be praised; and all the glory due unto his name is to be given him:

and thy name is great in might; his name is himself, and his greatness much appears in the exertion of the attribute of his power and might; in making all things out of nothing, in upholding the whole creation, and in the government of the universe; or the fame of him is great through the effects of his power, which are to be seen throughout the earth.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

There. Septuagint omit the three following verses; and from ver. 9., all these, &c., to the end of ver. 10., which Grabe inserts in a different character. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Forasmuch; this particle טן min, is to be taken here causally, and refers either to what goes before, showing there is no comparison between God and idols; or rather, to what follows, as the ground and reason of all due subjection to God, as in the next verse.

Thy name is great, or, thou art transcendently great,

in might, i.e. though idols may have something of a name in the world among the heathen, yet there was nothing of their real power or might seen; or if the devil might act something through them to delude the world, yet nothing to be compared with that might that hath manifested itself in God’s works, Psa 106:8; 111:6. All the works of idols are either none, or feeble and weak, Jer 10:8.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Forasmuch as there is none; rather, so that, etc. But practically it is merely a strengthened negative. There is none like unto thee; none, that is, among those who claim to have Divine power. (comp. the phrase, "God of gods," Deu_10:17 Psa_136:2) It would appear from some passages, however, as if the heathen did not worship mere nonentities (though idols are sometimes called "things of naught," e.g. ten times by Isaiah) by comparison with Jehovah, but that there was a dark background of awful personal or quasi-personal reality. (Deu_4:7 2Ch_28:23)

Vers. 6, 7. The incomparable greatness of God.

I GOD IS GREAT. This simple item of the Mohammedan"s creed must be accepted with equal reverence by the Christian, though it forms but one part of his conception of the Divine nature. There is danger lest we should regard the goodness of God in such a way as to detract from his majesty. Truly considered, it enhances the supreme glory of God"s greatness. God is great in power, in wisdom, in resources, in essential being. God is also great in character, in purpose, in the just and good principles of his actions. The worship of a God of mere power is the cringing of a slave, and has no spiritual value, but rather degrades the devotee by destroying independence of conscience and moral courage. It would be our duty to resist a being of infinite power if that power were not used righteously, for such a being would not be God, but an infinite demon; and though resistance were hopeless, it would be better to be a martyr to conscience than the degraded minion of an unrighteous despotism. But God is worthy of all worship because his greatness of power reposes on greatness of character.

II THE GREATNESS OF GOD IS INCOMPARABLE. The Jews were led to see that their God was not one among many deities, not even the supreme God, the Zeus of a pantheon of lesser divinities, but the only God, and out of all comparison with all other beings. God is infinite. You cannot compare the infinite with anything finite. The greatest existence which has any limit is as far from the infinite as the smallest. This is as much larger than a world as it is larger than a grain of sand. The being of God is entirely distinct from all other orders of being vastly greater than the universe of them in its fullness incomparable to any. Yet:

1. God, being infinite, contains in himself all possibilities of being, and therefore all may see their ideal perfection in him though he transcends all. (Heb_2:10)

2. God has made man in his own image, and in his power of thought, freedom of will, and moral conscience, man has characteristics like the Divine in kind, though incomparable with that in degree. (Gen_1:26) Christ is the "express Image of his substance", (Heb_1:3) "but only so because in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily". (Col_2:9)

III THE INCOMPARABLE GREATNESS OF GOD SHOULD MOVE ALL MEN TO FEAR BEFORE HIM. All should fear because:

1. He is too great to be concerned with a few; all nations, all mankind, are equally under his sway.

2. He is infinitely above the greatest, so that kings and wise men, persons of the highest rank and of the most profound genius, are as much below him as if they were beggars and fools.

3. He is so vast in being, power, and character, that it is no mark of noble independence to resist him, but only a sign of foolish pride which will certainly be humiliated. The fear of God thus engendered is an awe, a reverence, not mere terror. The gospel tempers this with the confident love of children, but does not destroy it, since perfect love, while casting out terror, infuses feelings of reverence.

Vers. 6, 7. The uniqueness of Jehovah.

When other gods have been proved to be false, it is very important that this unlikeness of God to anything else should be established. His claim to attention and reverence is thereby held in judgment.

I IN WHAT RESPECTS JEHOVAH IN UNIQUE.

1. In idea. It is a wondrous conception a being so great, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. As a conception it stands alone, commands respect, and invites reverent investigation. Such goodness with such power and wisdom!

2. In pretensions.

a. He claims our sole worship;

b. our highest and holiest service is his by right, and is unworthy of him;

c. our welfare and destiny are in his hands.

3. In works. There is nothing he has claimed to be which he has not made good in his works creation, providence, grace.

II THIS CONCEPTION OF GOD AS UNIQUE HARMONIZES WITH THE INSTINCTS OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT, AND THE TEACHINGS OF HISTORY AND NATURE. It has cast its spell over the mightiest intellects, and commanded the homage of the purest and best of men. In the worship of him whom it represents the highest longings are satisfied, and the most characteristically human sympathies and principles encouraged. The unity of nature; the mental principle that traces everything to a great First Cause; the manner in which the system of religion of which he is center and dominating principle explains this, and harmonizes the life of man with his surroundings; are all indications that point to the same conclusion. M.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Jeremiah has just been talking about idol worship.

your name is great in power

Here Yahweh's "name" refers to himself and his reputation. AT: "you are very powerful" (See: Metonymy)

Who does not fear you, king of the nations?

Jeremiah asks this rhetorical question to emphasize that everyone should fear Yahweh. Here he refers to Yahweh as "king of the nations." This question can be written as a statement. AT: "Everyone should fear you, king of the nations." (See: Rhetorical Question)

what you deserve

"what you have earned"

translationWords

name

power

king

wise

royal

kingdom

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.