Jeremiah 10:20
in Jeremiah 10My tent is destroyed, and all its ropes are snapped. My sons have departed from me and are no more. I have no one left to pitch my tent or set up my curtains.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth from me, and they are not: there is none to spread my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
KJV
My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
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This verse in Jeremiah 10
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Verse 20.) My tent has been devastated, all my ropes have been torn (or all my skins have been ripped), my sons have left me (or my sheep), and there is no one left ((Alternatively: remaining)): there is no one to extend my tent any further (or there is no place beyond my tent) and to set up my skins. Jerusalem laments the ease with which its city is overthrown, not by walls and fortifications completely destroyed, but by the removal of tents and tabernacles. The tabernacle, he says, that is, my dwelling, was suddenly taken away.
This site's exposition
Woe to me because of my brokenness
on Jeremiah 10:19-21
The prophet speaks in the city's voice and pictures a nomad's home undone, “My tent is destroyed, and all its ropes are snapped”. Verse 21 names the cause the book returns to in its shepherd oracles, “the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD”.
This site's exposition
My tent is destroyed
Barnes hears Jerusalem speaking as a mother whose tent is destroyed and whose sons are carried into exile. The words are no more return at Jeremiah 31:15, where Rachel weeps for her children. Jerome notes that the Greek has sheep for sons.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Their church is ruined, and all the supports of it fail. It was a general destruction of church and state, city and country, and there were none to repair these desolations. " My children have gone forth of me; some have fled, others are slain, others carried into captivity, so that as to me, they are not;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
My tabernacle is spoiled,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
tabernacle is spoiled--metaphor from the tents of nomadic life; as these are taken down in a few moments, so as not to leave a vestige of them, so Judea (Jer 4:20). cords--with which the coverings of the tent are extended. curtains--tent-curtains.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
My tabernacle is spoiled - The city is taken, and all our villages ruined and desolated.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָהֳלִ֣י | ʾoholi | tent my | H168 → | 345 times |
| שֻׁדָּ֔ד | shudad | it has been devastated | H7703 → | 57 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מֵיתָרַ֖י | meitarai | tent cords my | H4340 → | |
| נִתָּ֑קוּ | nitaku | they have been snapped | H5423 → | 27 times |
| בָּנַ֤י | banai | children my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יְצָאֻ֙נִי֙ | yetzauni | they have gone out from me | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וְאֵינָ֔ם | veeinam | and there not [are] they | H369 → | 789 times |
| אֵין־ | ʾein- | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| נֹטֶ֥ה | noteh | [is one who] pitches | H5186 → | 214 times |
| עוֹד֙ | ʾod | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| אָהֳלִ֔י | ʾoholi | tent my | H168 → | 345 times |
| וּמֵקִ֖ים | umekim | and [one who] raises | H6965 → | 628 times |
| יְרִיעוֹתָֽי׃ | yeriotai | tent curtains my | H3407 → | 54 times |
אָהֳלִ֣יtent my
ʾoholiH168 →345 times
שֻׁדָּ֔דit has been devastated
shudadH7703 →57 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
מֵיתָרַ֖יtent cords my
meitaraiH4340 →
נִתָּ֑קוּthey have been snapped
nitakuH5423 →27 times
בָּנַ֤יchildren my
banaiH1121 →4930 times
יְצָאֻ֙נִי֙they have gone out from me
yetzauniH3318 →1067 times
וְאֵינָ֔םand there not [are] they
veeinamH369 →789 times
אֵין־there not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
נֹטֶ֥ה[is one who] pitches
notehH5186 →214 times
עוֹד֙again
ʾodH5750 →490 times
אָהֳלִ֔יtent my
ʾoholiH168 →345 times
וּמֵקִ֖יםand [one who] raises
umekimH6965 →628 times
יְרִיעוֹתָֽי׃tent curtains my
yeriotaiH3407 →54 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 31:15This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
it leads to
- Matthew 2:16–18
When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years…
- Psalms 77:2
In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted.
- Jeremiah 40:1
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had released him at Ramah, having found him bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem…
- Matthew 2:16–18
Through
Isaiah 51:16I have put My words in your mouth, and covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
it leads to
- Isaiah 59:21
“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your…
- John 17:8
For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them. They knew with certainty that I came from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
- Isaiah 49:2
He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver.
- Deuteronomy 18:18
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
- Isaiah 59:21
Through
Isaiah 54:2“Enlarge the site of your tent, stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not hold back. Lengthen your ropes and drive your stakes in deep.
it leads to
- Isaiah 33:20
Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up, nor will any…
- Isaiah 33:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.