Jeremiah 10:13 · Bible study
Jeremiah 10:13 Commentary: The Sovereign Lord of Wind and Rain
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Jeremiah 10:13 declares God's absolute control over weather. Learn how thunder, lightning, and wind serve His purposes, contrasting with powerless idols.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God's sovereign control over storms demonstrates that He, not idols, commands creation.
- Key words: voice (qol, thunder), clouds (nesi'im, vapors), treasuries (otsarot, storehouses of nature).
- Main debate: Whether this passage is original to Jeremiah or a later exilic insertion (Cambridge Bible), but the verse's meaning is not disputed.
- Theological theme: Divine sovereignty over weather, contrasting with the impotence of idols.
- Best use: In sermons on God's power, in teachings about creation and providence, or in personal worship that turns weather into praise.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.
WEB World English Bible 2000
When he utters his voice, the waters in the heavens roar, and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings for the rain, and brings the wind out of his treasuries.
KJV King James Version 1769
When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
At the voice He giveth forth, A multitude of waters is in the heavens, And He causeth vapours to come up from the end of the earth, Lightnings for rain He hath made, And bringeth out wind from His treasures.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
At his voice he giveth a multitude of waters in the heaven, and lifteth up the clouds from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings for rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
A su voz se da muchedumbre de aguas en el cielo, y hace subir las nubes de lo postrero de la tierra; hace los relámpagos con la lluvia, y saca el viento de sus depósitos.
Quando ele pronuncia sua voz, logo há ruído de águas no céu, e faz subir vapores dos confins da terra; faz os relâmpagos com a chuva, e faz sair o vento de seus tesouros.
A sa voix, les eaux mugissent dans les cieux;
Wenn er donnert, so ist des Wassers die Menge unter dem Himmel, und er zieht die Nebel auf vom Ende der Erde; er macht die Blitze im Regen und läßt den Wind kommen aus seinen Vorratskammern.
Als Hij Zijn stem geeft, zo is er een gedruis van wateren in den hemel, en Hij doet de dampen opklimmen van het einde der aarde; Hij maakt de bliksemen met den regen, en doet den wind voortkomen uit Zijn schatkameren.
Quando fa udire la sua voce v’è un rumor d’acque nel cielo; ei fa salire i vapori dalle estremità della terra, fa guizzare i lampi per la pioggia e trae il vento dai suoi serbatoi;
Gdy on wydaje głos, szum wód bywa na niebie, i to sposabia, aby występowały pary z krajów ziemi; błyskawice z deszczem przywodzi, a wywodzi wiatry z skarbów swoich.
По гласу Его шумят воды на небесах, и Он возводит облака от краев земли, творит молнии среди дождя и изводит ветер из хранилищ Своих.
他一發 聲，空中 便有多 水激動；他使雲霧 從地 極 上騰；他造 電 隨雨而閃，從他府庫 中帶出 風來。
At the sound of his voice there is a massing of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mists go up from the ends of the earth; he makes the thunder-flames for the rain, and sends out the wind from his store-houses.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 10:13
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Jeremiah 10:13 parades God's sovereign control over the elements as a direct refutation of idol-worship. Calvin emphasizes that 'by his voice' means thunder, and that God 'gives abundance of waters', a sudden change that forces the observer into awe. Gill specifies that 'causeth the vapours to ascend' refers to evaporation from distant seas, and he reads 'treasures' (otsar) as God's storehouses, the literal caverns and repositories from which the wind is released. Adam Clarke reads the verse as a plain description of a thunderstorm, with lightning recomposing atmospheric gases to produce rain. The surrounding context (Jeremiah 10:1, 16) contrasts the living God with mute idols; here, the storm makes the point acoustically. No commentator disputes that the verse depicts the Lord as the active agent behind lightning, rain and wind. Nothing is random, nothing belongs to fate or to the gods of the nations.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: God, and no idol, commands thunder, rain and wind; the verse declares that weather is under His direct authority and serves His purposes.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The voice of God | All traditions read 'his voice' as thunder, a direct divine act. | Some see the voice as God's literal speech in a storm (Calvin, Gill); others read it as a general command, not necessarily audible thunder. |
| Origin of the passage (Jer. 10:1, 16) | The passage warns against idolatry and exalts God's power. | Some scholars argue it is a later exilic insertion because it breaks the literary flow and resembles Second Isaiah (Cambridge Bible, Lange). Others, from Matthew Henry to Calvin, treat it as Jeremiah's own work without questioning its place. |
| Nature of God's treasuries | The wind comes from places only God controls. | Gill and Calvin take 'treasuries' as literal storehouses (caverns, God's fists). Many modern interpreters read it as a poetic metaphor for God's sovereign reserve, not a physical location. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jeremiah 10:13 belongs to a section (Jeremiah 10:1, 16) that some biblical scholars, including the editors of the Cambridge Bible, consider a later insertion, possibly originating among exiles in Babylon, that expands on the prophet's earlier warnings against idolatry. The passage contrasts Yahweh, the living God, with idols that 'have not made the heavens and the earth' (v. 11) and that are mere 'work of skillful men' (v. 9). Within this polemic, verse 13 functions as a miniature nature psalm: it describes a thunderstorm from start to finish, each stage traced back to a direct act of God.
To an ancient Israelite, the imagery would have been unmistakable. The Canaanite god Baal was honored as the 'rider of the clouds,' the one who sent thunder and rain. Here, Jeremiah strips away every middleman: 'When he utters his voice' (literally 'at the sound of his giving forth', lekol titto), the waters in the heavens roar. The word for 'voice' (qol) is the same Hebrew word used for thunder throughout the Old Testament (Exodus 9:23, 1 Samuel 12:17). God does not merely permit the storm; he calls it into being with the same kind of command that created the world.
The phrase 'brings the wind out of his treasuries' (me'otsrotav) draws on a metaphor of God as a king who keeps precious resources in storage. The same Hebrew word (otsar) can refer to treasuries of gold or silver (1 Kings 7:51) or to God's storehouses of snow, hail and wind (Job 38:22). Gill identifies these as 'the caverns of the earth, or his fists.' The picture is personal: God has the wind on hand, in reserve, ready to release. No pagan deity has such reserves.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for verse 13 itself. The Cambridge Bible observes that the Masoretic Text of the surrounding passage (Jeremiah 10:1, 16) is expanded compared to the Septuagint, and that the LXX presents a different order of verses. But for the wording of verse 13 specifically, the consulted commentaries rely on the standard Hebrew text without reporting alternate readings.
Reception History
Calvin, writing in the sixteenth century, used this verse to argue for God's direct providence over every change in the weather. Matthew Henry applied it devotionally, calling the storm a 'set piece' of God's wisdom. Gill and Clarke saw natural processes, evaporation, lightning, wind reservoirs, as the very acts of God. In Wesleyan tradition, Clarke connected the verse to the chemical composition of water (hydrogen and oxygen), arguing that the lightning 'decomposes' atmospheric gases to form rain. Across these traditions, the image of God's treasuries has assured believers that even the gusts they cannot predict serve a personal King.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God's voice commands the storm. The thunder is His utterance; the waters in the heavens roar in response. This is not random nature but a personal speech act.
- God's wisdom orchestrates the water cycle. He causes vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. Lightning and rain, opposite forces, are united by His design.
- God's treasuries hold the wind. He brings the wind out from His storehouses. The wind is not autonomous; it obeys the hand that releases it.
Five-point outline
- The sound of sovereignty, when God speaks, creation answers.
- The ascent of clouds, God summons vapor from distant regions, a daily miracle we take for granted.
- The marriage of lightning and rain, elements that seem at war are made to work together.
- The wind from the vault, God's reserves of power are personal, not abstract.
- The contrast with idols, mute figures that cannot send weather or save, against the God who speaks storms.
Illustration hooks
- Watching a thunderstorm roll in, feeling the ground shake, that raw power has a source, and it is not impersonal.
- The precise cycle of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation that modern science describes, Jeremiah traces it all to a single voice.
- In a drought-prone region, a sudden storm is a lifesaving gift. In a flood zone, the same storm is a warning. Either way, it serves a Person.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If God controls the weather, why does it cause destruction and suffering?
- Does this verse mean that thunder is literally God's voice speaking from heaven?
- How does knowing that God has treasuries of wind change how I pray for rain, or for safety from a storm?
Leading a Discussion
Jeremiah 10:13 paints a vivid picture of God's immediate presence in the natural world. As you discuss this verse, consider how the prophet uses the weather to prove that only Yahweh is worthy of worship. Let the questions move you from simply observing the text to letting it touch your trust in God's control.
Discussion questions
- What specific weather events does the verse describe? Track them from start to finish.
- Why does Jeremiah include a weather description in a passage about idolatry? What connection is he making?
- What does the word 'treasuries' tell you about God's relationship to the wind? How is that different from seeing nature as a machine?
- Calvin says the sudden change of a thunderstorm fills us with awe. When have you felt awe (or fear) in a storm? How does this verse reframe that feeling?
- How does this verse challenge the way your culture talks about 'natural disasters' or 'freak weather'?
- If God has storehouses for wind, what does that say about His sovereignty over things that feel random or out of control in your own life?
- How might this verse shape the way you pray before a weather forecast, not just for safety, but for worship?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 9:23 | Moses stretched out his rod toward the heavens, and Yahweh sent thunder and hail; and lightning flashed down to the earth. Yahweh rained hail on the land of Egypt. |
| I Samuel 12:17 | Isn’t it wheat harvest today? I will call to Yahweh, that he may send thunder and rain; and you will know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in Yahweh’s sight, in asking for a king.” |
| I Samuel 12:18 | So Samuel called to Yahweh, and Yahweh sent thunder and rain that day. Then all the people greatly feared Yahweh and Samuel. |
| I Kings 18:41 | Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” |
| I Kings 18:45 | In a little while, the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. |
| I Kings 18:46 | Yahweh’s hand was on Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. |
| Job 36:27 | For he draws up the drops of water, which distill in rain from his vapor, |
| Job 36:33 | Its noise tells about him, and the livestock also, concerning the storm that comes up. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke identifies the biblical description of God's voice and rushing waters as a literal thunderstorm, then explains the science behind it. He observes that lightning decomposes hydrogen and oxygen in the air, and their recombination produces the downpour.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
When ... - i. e., the rushing downpour of rain follows immediately upon the thunder. The rest of the verse is identical with marginal reference; but probably the words belong to Jeremiah, the Psalm being of comparatively late date. With rain - For the rain Psa 135:7 .
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin draws a deliberate contrast between God's steady, regular government of creation and His sudden, unsettling works like storms and rain. These abrupt changes display God's power more strikingly than the fixed order and should rouse people from indifference to recognize His rule in every natural event.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This commentary argues that Jeremiah 10:1-16 is a later addition to the book, likely written for exiled Jews in Babylon. The warning shifts from the prophet's earlier message that idols cannot save to a new emphasis that they cannot harm, reflecting the different circumstances of the exiles surrounded by elaborate idol worship.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note emphasizes that God exercises absolute royal authority over the weather: He speaks and the waters gather, clouds rise, lightning changes to rain, and wind comes forth from His storehouses. Every natural event is a direct act of His command, not a random process.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasises God’s direct, personal control over every weather phenomenon: thunder is God’s voice, lightning accompanies rain, and the wind is stored in His “treasures” (caverns or fists) and released when He pleases. Nothing in nature acts on its own; each part obeys the Creator’s command.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB reads "the voice of His giving forth" as the thunder that releases waters stored above the firmament. Heavy rains accompany this thunder, while vapors ascend from the earth, all drawn from God's treasuries stocked with these elements.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry contrasts the lifeless idols of the nations with the living God. Idols are man-made, speechless, and must be carried, but God created the earth and heavens, commands the elements, and is the everlasting King who alone is worthy of fear.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley draws a contrast between two divine works announced in nearby verses: God's power and wisdom in first establishing creation's order, and then God's ongoing providential care in arranging and directing everything that follows.