Vanities. — sc., as in Jeremiah 10:8, the idols of the heathen, powerless and perishable.
Are there any... that can cause rain? — The question is asked with a special reference to the drought which had called forth the prophet’s utterance (Jeremiah 14:1). Israel remembers at last that it is Jehovah alone who gives the rain from heaven and the fruitful seasons, and turns to Him in patient waiting for His gifts. The words contain an implied appeal to the history of Elijah (1 Kings 18:41) and that of Joel 2:23).