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.
He hath made the earth by his power ... When he uttereth his voice ... Every man is brutish by his knowledge ... They are vanity ... The Portion of Jacob is not like them ... - repeated from Jeremiah 10:12-16; except that "Israel" is not in the Hebrew of Jeremiah 51:19 (though it is in Jeremiah 10:16): Jeremiah 51:19 ought, therefore, to be translated, 'He is the Former of all things, and (therefore) of the rod of His inheritance' - i:e., of the nation peculiarly His own. In Jeremiah 10:1-25 the contrast is between the idols and God; here it is between the power of populous Babylon and that of God: "Thou dwellest upon many waters" (Jeremiah 51:13); but God can, by merely "uttering His voice," create "many waters" (Jeremiah 51:16). The "earth" (in its material aspect) is the result of His "power;" the "world" (viewed in its orderly system) is the result of His "wisdom," etc. (Jeremiah 51:15). Such an Almighty Being can be at no loss for resources to effect His purpose against Babylon.