Jeremiah 51:15-19·~1 min
Praise to the God of Jacob
The LORD is praised as the One who made the earth by His power, established the world by His wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by His understanding. At His voice the waters roar, clouds rise, lightning flashes, and wind comes out from His storehouses. In contrast, every man is stupid before idols, and every goldsmith is shamed by his images, because they are breathless frauds destined to perish. The Portion of Jacob is wholly different: He formed everything, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance, the LORD of Hosts His name.
T15he LORD made the earth by His power; 16When He thunders, 17Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; 18They are worthless, a work to be mocked. 19The Portion of Jacob is not like these,
Section summaryIn the middle of Babylon's doom the chapter breaks into praise of the LORD as Maker of earth, world, and heavens. His thunder commands the waters and winds, while human idol-makers are exposed as senseless, their images a fraud doomed to perish. By contrast, the Portion of Jacob is not like them, for He formed all things and Israel belongs to Him as His inheritance.
Role in the chapterThis section interrupts the oracle to ground Babylon's fall in theology: the true God who creates and rules nature cannot be compared with Babylon's powerless idols.