Bible Strands
Jeremiah 10:16
The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah speaks to Judah during a time of impending siege, contrasting the true God with the surrounding nations’ idols.
The words — חֵלֶק (Che.lek) translates to "portion," and יוֹצֵר (yo.Tzer) means "formed" or "maker," establishing God as both creator and exclusive inheritance of Jacob.
The thread — This theme of Yahweh as Jacob’s portion and creator recurs in Deuteronomy 32:9, Jeremiah 31:35, and Jeremiah 32:18.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that the God who formed all things alone claims Israel as His possession, rendering idol worship logically and theologically void.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The Lord of hosts is his name.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:9 But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.
- Jeremiah 32:18 You show loving devotion to thousands but lay the iniquity of the fathers into the laps of their children after them, O great and mighty God whose name is the LORD of Hosts,
- Jeremiah 31:35 Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:
- Psalms 74:2 Remember Your congregation, which You purchased long ago and redeemed as the tribe of Your inheritance—Mount Zion, where You dwell.
- Psalms 119:57 The LORD is my portion; I have promised to keep Your words.
- Jeremiah 10:12 The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
- Jeremiah 51:19 The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and of the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.
- Psalms 135:4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob as His own, Israel as His treasured possession.
- Lamentations 3:24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
- Exodus 19:5 Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.