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Text -- Jeremiah 10:23 (NET)

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Context
10:23 Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them.
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Dictionary Themes and Topics: Ignorance | INTERCESSION | Humility | Faith | more
Table of Contents

Word/Phrase Notes
Wesley , JFB , Clarke , Calvin , Defender , TSK

Word/Phrase Notes
Barnes , Poole , Haydock , Gill

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes , Geneva Bible

Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis , MHCC , Matthew Henry , Keil-Delitzsch , Constable

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Jer 10:23 - -- Lord we know it is not in our power to divert these judgments that are coming upon us, but thou canst moderate, and limit them as thou pleasest.

Lord we know it is not in our power to divert these judgments that are coming upon us, but thou canst moderate, and limit them as thou pleasest.

JFB: Jer 10:23 - -- Despairing of influencing the people, he turns to God.

Despairing of influencing the people, he turns to God.

JFB: Jer 10:23 - -- (Pro 16:1; Pro 20:24; Jam 4:13-14). I know, O Jehovah, that the march of the Babylonian conqueror against me (Jeremiah identifying himself with his p...

(Pro 16:1; Pro 20:24; Jam 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 (Isa 10:5-7; compare Jer 10:19).

JFB: Jer 10:23 - -- When he walketh, that is, sets out in any undertaking.

When he walketh, that is, sets out in any undertaking.

JFB: Jer 10:23 - -- To give a prosperous issue to (Psa 73:23).

To give a prosperous issue to (Psa 73:23).

Clarke: Jer 10:23 - -- O 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 sin...

O 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,

Calvin: Jer 10:23 - -- The Jews confine this to Sennacherib, who had, according to his own will, at one time resolved to attack the Ammonites, at another the Moabites, and ...

The Jews confine this to Sennacherib, who had, according to his own will, at one time resolved to attack the Ammonites, at another the Moabites, and to reduce them under his own power; but had been induced by a sudden impulse to go to Judea. But this is frivolous. The Prophet, I doubt not, referred to the Jews, who had for a long time been accustomed to dismiss every fear, as though they were able by their own counsels to consult in the best way for the public good: for we know, that whenever any danger was apprehended from the Assyrians, they usually fled for aid to Egypt or to Chaldea. Thus, then, they provided for themselves, so tlmt they thought that they took good care of their affairs, while they had recourse to this or that expedient; and then, when the prophets denounced on them the vengeance of God, they usually regarded only their then present state, as though God could not; in one instant vibrate his lightnings from the rising to the setting sun.

Since then this security produced torpor and obstinacy, the Prophet in this passage justly exclaims, I know, Jehovah, that his way is not in man’s power; nor is it in the power of a person walking to direct his steps 22

We now perceive what the Prophet had in view; and this is ever to be remembered — that if we desire to read what has been written with profit, we must consider the meaning intended by the Holy Spirit, and then the purpose for which he has spoken. When we understand these things, then it is easy to make the application to other things: but he who does not weigh the end in view, ever wanders here and there, and though he may say many things, he yet does not reach the chief point. 23 But we must observe that the Prophet, as he had done before, spoke as though he had God alone as his witness, for he saw that his own people were so hardened, that he addressed his words to them in vain: he therefore turned to God, which was a proof that he despaired as to the disposition of the people, as though he had said, “I shall have nothing to do with this perverse people any more; for I have already found out by my experience that their perverseness is untameable. I am now therefore constrained, O Lord, to address thee as though I were alone in the world.” This is the reason why he spoke to God himself. We shall defer the rest fill to-morrow.

Defender: Jer 10:23 - -- No matter how intelligent, strong or rich a man may be (Jer 9:23, Jer 9:24), he cannot control his own destiny, or even make reliable decisions day by...

No matter how intelligent, strong or rich a man may be (Jer 9:23, Jer 9:24), he cannot control his own destiny, or even make reliable decisions day by day. If his "way" is to point toward the eternal ministry God has planned for him, he must continually seek and follow God's leading. "Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?" (Pro 20:24). "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and He delighteth in his way" (Psa 37:23)."

TSK: Jer 10:23 - -- Psa 17:5, Psa 37:23, Psa 119:116, Psa 119:117; Pro 16:1, Pro 20:24

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Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Jer 10:19-25 - -- The lamentation of the daughter of Zion, the Jewish Church, at the devastation of the land, and her humble prayer to God for mercy. Jer 10:19 ...

The lamentation of the daughter of Zion, the Jewish Church, at the devastation of the land, and her humble prayer to God for mercy.

Jer 10:19

Grievous - Rather, "mortal,"i. e., fatal, incurable.

A grief - Or, "my grief."

Jer 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 Mat 2:18, either absolutely, or dead to her in the remote land of their captivity. They can aid the widowed mother no longer in pitching her tent, or in hanging up the curtains round about it.

Jer 10:21

Therefore they shall not prosper - Rather, "therefore they have not governed wisely.""The pastors,"i. e., the kings and rulers Jer 2:8, having sunk to the condition of barbarous and untutored men, could not govern wisely.

Jer 10:22

The "great commotion"is the confused noise of the army on its march (see Jer 8:16).

Dragons - i. e., jackals; see the marginal reference.

Jer 10:23

At the rumour of the enemy’ s approach Jeremiah utters in the name of the nation a supplication appropriate to men overtaken by the divine justice.

Jer 10:24

With judgment - In Jer 30:11; Jer 46:28, the word "judgment"(with a different preposition) is rendered "in measure."The contrast therefore is between punishment inflicted in anger, and that inflicted as a duty of justice, of which the object is the criminal’ s reformation. Jeremiah prays that God would punish Jacob so far only as would bring him to true repentance, but that he would pour forth his anger upon the pagan, as upon that which opposes itself to God Jer 10:25.

Poole: Jer 10:23 - -- The prophet finding that all he could say prevailed nothing upon this people, but they rather grew worse, he turns himself to God. How far these wor...

The prophet finding that all he could say prevailed nothing upon this people, but they rather grew worse, he turns himself to God. How far these words concern Pelagianism, or free-will, either one way or other, or whether at all, concerns not this comment; they seem literally to be the words of the prophet, relating either to himself and other holy men: q.d. It is not in our power, neither do we presume, to stop this decree of thine against Judea: or else to the enemies in general, or Nebuchadnezzar in particular: q.d. We know all their marches and designs are of thine appointing, and all their achievements of thine ordering, it is thy providence that directs every step they take against this land, without whom no counsels shall prosper, who alone turnest men’ s hearts which way thou pleasest, Pro 21:1 , who canst bring men on, or turn them back, as thou seest good, Isa 37:29 , so that no man’ s way is properly his own, to give them what success he will: or to the people, whereby he doth tacitly insinuate that all the counsels and measures they think to take, whether by their own strength at home, or confederacies and alliances abroad, will avail nothing; however they may think to escape by some devices or stratagems of their own, it is to no purpose, God can overturn all in a moment, when men think their counsels are ripe, and they want nothing but execution: or lastly, as others think, this is by way of petition: q.d. Lord, we know it is not in our power to divert these judgments that are coming upon us by the Chaldeans, but thou canst moderate and limit them as thou pleasest; seeing all their designs are ordered by thy providence, they cannot do any thing against us without thy permission: this the next verse seems to favour.

Haydock: Jer 10:23 - -- The way, &c. Notwithstanding man's free-will, yet he can do no good without God's help, nor evil without his permission. So that, in the present ca...

The way, &c. Notwithstanding man's free-will, yet he can do no good without God's help, nor evil without his permission. So that, in the present case, all the evils which Nabuchodonosor was about to bring upon Jerusalem, could not have come but by the will of God. (Challoner) (Worthington) ---

This prince succeeds by thy order. (Theodoret) ---

Yet chastise us as a father, and have us not to his fury, ver. 24. (Calmet) ---

"Let new preachers blush, who say that each one is governed by his own will," (St. Jerome; chap. ix. 23.) and able to do good without God's grace. (Haydock)

Gill: Jer 10:23 - -- O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself,.... Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it of that well known man Nebuchadnezzar, whose way was not ...

O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself,.... Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it of that well known man Nebuchadnezzar, whose way was not in himself, and was not master of his own resolutions, but was under the influence and direction of divine Providence: when he set out of Babylon, he thought to have gone against the Ammonites; but when he came to a place where two ways met; the one leading to the children of Ammon, the other to Jerusalem; God changed his mind, and he steered his course to Jerusalem, to chastise Zedekiah for the breach of his oath: but the words seem to have a more general meaning; and the sense to be, that the prophet knew that it was not with him, nor with any of the godly, to escape the judgments that were coming upon them; that they were entirely in the hands of the Lord, to be guided, directed, and disposed of at his pleasure. The words may be accommodated to spiritual things and the affair of salvation; and be rendered thus, "I know, O Lord, that not for man is his way" d; his own way is not good for him; not his sinful way, for this is opposite to God's way, and a going out of it; it is not according to his word; it is after the course of the world; and it is a dark and crooked way, and leads to, and ends in, destruction and death, if grace prevent not: nor the way of his own righteousness; this is no way of access to God, no way of acceptance with him, no way of justification before him, no way of salvation, no way to heaven, and eternal happiness; that which is the good and right way, the only way of salvation, is not of man, in him, or with him naturally; it is not of his devising and contriving, and much less of his effecting; it is not even within his knowledge; and so far as he knows anything of it, he does not approve of it: but it is of God; the scheme of it is of his forming; it is a work wrought out by Christ; it is a way of salvation revealed in the Gospel; and the thing itself is savingly made known, and applied by the Spirit of God; all which is known and owned when men are spiritually enlightened:

it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps; as not in natural and civil things, much less in religious ones; a good man is one that "walks", which supposes life and strength, without which there can be no walking; and a progression, a going on in a way; which ways are Christ, and his ordinances the path of doctrine and of duty; yet it is not even in this good man "to direct" and order "his steps" of himself; it is the Lord that must do it, and does; he can take no step aright without him; he is guided by him and his Spirit, both in the path of truth and of obedience; and hence it is that the saints persevere unto the end; see Psa 37:23.

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jer 10:23 Heb “Not to a man the walking and the establishing his step.”

Geneva Bible: Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know that ( p ) the way of man [is] not in himself: [it is] not in man that walketh to direct his steps. ( p ) He speaks this because Nebuc...

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Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Jer 10:1-25 - --1 The unequal comparison of God and idols.17 The prophet exhorts to flee from the calamity to come.19 He laments the spoil of the tabernacle by foolis...

MHCC: Jer 10:17-25 - --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 it...

Matthew Henry: Jer 10:17-25 - -- In these verses, I. The prophet threatens, in God's name, the approaching ruin of Judah and Jerusalem, Jer 10:17, Jer 10:18. The Jews that continued...

Keil-Delitzsch: Jer 10:17-25 - -- The captivity of the people, their lamentation for the devastation of the land, and entreaty that the punishment may be mitigated. - Jer 10:17. "G...

Constable: Jer 2:1--45:5 - --II. Prophecies about Judah chs. 2--45 The first series of prophetic announcements, reflections, and incidents th...

Constable: Jer 2:1--25:38 - --A. Warnings of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem chs. 2-25 Chapters 2-25 contain warnings and appeals to t...

Constable: Jer 7:1--10:25 - --2. Warnings about apostasy and its consequences chs. 7-10 This is another collection of Jeremiah...

Constable: Jer 8:4--11:1 - --Incorrigible Judah 8:4-10:25 The twin themes of Judah's stubborn rebellion and her inevi...

Constable: Jer 10:17-25 - --A lament over the coming exile 10:17-25 10:17 Jeremiah called those living during the siege of Jerusalem to pack their bags. He often warned his heare...

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Introduction / Outline

JFB: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) JEREMIAH, son of Hilkiah, one of the ordinary priests, dwelling in Anathoth of Benjamin (Jer 1:1), not the Hilkiah the high priest who discovered the ...

JFB: Jeremiah (Outline) EXPOSTULATION WITH THE JEWS, REMINDING THEM OF THEIR FORMER DEVOTEDNESS, AND GOD'S CONSEQUENT FAVOR, AND A DENUNCIATION OF GOD'S COMING JUDGMENTS FOR...

TSK: Jeremiah 10 (Chapter Introduction) Overview Jer 10:1, The unequal comparison of God and idols; Jer 10:17, The prophet exhorts to flee from the calamity to come; Jer 10:19, He lament...

Poole: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH THE ARGUMENT IT was the great unhappiness of this prophet to be a physician to, but that could not save, a dying sta...

Poole: Jeremiah 10 (Chapter Introduction) CHAPTER 10 They are forbid to be afraid of the tokens of heaven, and consult idols, which are vain, Jer 10:1-5 , and not to be compared with the ma...

MHCC: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) Jeremiah was a priest, a native of Anathoth, in the tribe of Benjamin. He was called to the prophetic office when very young, about seventy years afte...

MHCC: Jeremiah 10 (Chapter Introduction) (v. 1-16) The absurdity of idolatry. (Jer 10:17-25) Destruction denounced against Jerusalem.

Matthew Henry: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah The Prophecies of the Old Testament, as the Epistles of the New, are p...

Matthew Henry: Jeremiah 10 (Chapter Introduction) We may conjecture that the prophecy of this chapter was delivered after the first captivity, in the time of Jeconiah or Jehoiachin, when many were ...

Constable: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) Introduction Title The title of this book derives from its writer, the late seventh an...

Constable: Jeremiah (Outline) Outline I. Introduction ch. 1 A. The introduction of Jeremiah 1:1-3 B. T...

Constable: Jeremiah Jeremiah Bibliography Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. London: C...

Haydock: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) THE PROPHECY OF JEREMIAS. INTRODUCTION. Jeremias was a priest, a native of Anathoth, a priestly city, in the tribe of Benjamin, and was sanct...

Gill: Jeremiah (Book Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH The title of the book in the Vulgate Latin version is, "the Prophecy of Jeremiah"; in the Syriac and Arabic versions, "the...

Gill: Jeremiah 10 (Chapter Introduction) INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 10 This chapter shows that there is no comparison to be made between God and the idols of the Gentiles; represents the des...

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