Jeremiah 51:15
in Jeremiah 51The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding hath he stretched out the heavens.
KJV
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
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This verse in Jeremiah 51
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Repeated from Jer 10:12-16; except that "Israel" is not in the Hebrew of Jer 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).
This site's exposition
The LORD made the earth by His power
on Jeremiah 51:15-19
This hymn repeats 10:12-16 almost word for word. It sets the Maker against idols: “his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.” Verse 19 closes, “The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things.”
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"His lightnings illumine the world," Jeremiah says. "The Lord who established the world by his wisdom and brings up clouds from the end of the earth; he makes the lightning flash in the rain." "His lightnings illumine the world." The philosophers, who are always discoursing on the nature of things, say that unless the winds cause a collision among the clouds, fire cannot escape from them; but when they have been aroused to a kind of rivalry in thundering, lightning flashes forth. We can observe a similar phenomenon in producing fire from stones.
For this is proved by Jeremiah when he says, "God has made the earth by his power; he has established the world by his wisdom and has stretched out the heavens by his understanding." These are the energies by the exercise of which he made this universe. His glory is greater if he labored. At length on the seventh day he rested from his works. Both one and the other were after his manner.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), and therefore nothing is too hard for him to do; it is in his name that our help stands, and on him our hope is built. He has the command of all the creatures that he has made (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding. The Targum prefaces the words thus, "these things saith he who hath made the earth, &c.'' The verses Jer 51:16 are the same with Jer 10:
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He hath made the earth by his power - The omnipotence of God is particularly manifested in the works of creation. He hath established the world by his wisdom - The omniscience of God is particularly seen in the government of תבל tebel, the inhabited surface of the globe. What a profusion of wisdom and skill is apparent in that wondrous system of providence by which he governs and provides for every living thing.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֹשֵׂ֥ה | ʾoseh | [he] made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֶ֙רֶץ֙ | ʾeretz | [the] earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| בְּכֹח֔וֹ | bekhocho | by power his | H3581 → | 126 times |
| מֵכִ֥ין | mekhin | [he] established | H3559 → | 217 times |
| תֵּבֵ֖ל | tevel | [the] world | H8398 → | |
| בְּחָכְמָת֑וֹ | bechakhemato | by wisdom his | H2451 → | 153 times |
| וּבִתְבוּנָת֖וֹ | uvitvunato | and by understanding his | H8394 → | |
| נָטָ֥ה | natah | he stretched out | H5186 → | 214 times |
| שָׁמָֽיִם׃ | shamayim | [the] heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
עֹשֵׂ֥ה[he] made
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
אֶ֙רֶץ֙[the] earth
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
בְּכֹח֔וֹby power his
bekhochoH3581 →126 times
מֵכִ֥ין[he] established
mekhinH3559 →217 times
תֵּבֵ֖ל[the] world
tevelH8398 →
בְּחָכְמָת֑וֹby wisdom his
bechakhematoH2451 →153 times
וּבִתְבוּנָת֖וֹand by understanding his
uvitvunatoH8394 →
נָטָ֥הhe stretched out
natahH5186 →214 times
שָׁמָֽיִם׃[the] heavens
shamayimH8064 →421 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 32:17“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
it leads to
- Luke 1:37
For no word from God will ever fail.”
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
- Genesis 18:14
Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
- Job 42:2
“I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.
- Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
- Luke 1:37
Through
Revelation 4:11“Worthy are You, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things; by Your will they exist and came to be.”
it leads to
- Colossians 1:16–17
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.
- Revelation 5:12
In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
- Isaiah 40:28
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching…
- Colossians 1:16–17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 73; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Tertullian, AGAINST HERMOGENES 45.