Jeremiah 2:37

2:37 Moreover, you will come away from Egypt

with your hands covering your faces in sorrow and shame 1 

because the Lord will not allow your reliance on them to be successful

and you will not gain any help from them. 2 

Jeremiah 12:1

12:1 Lord, you have always been fair

whenever I have complained to you. 3 

However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice. 4 

Why are wicked people successful? 5 

Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?

1 tn Heb “with your hands on your head.” For the picture here see 2 Sam 13:19.

2 tn Heb “The Lord has rejected those you trust in; you will not prosper by/from them.”

3 tn Or “Lord, you are fair when I present my case before you.”

4 tn Heb “judgments” or “matters of justice.” For the nuance of “complain to,” “fair,” “disposition of justice” assumed here, see BDB 936 s.v. רִיב Qal.4 (cf. Judg 21:22); BDB 843 s.v. צַדִּיק 1.d (cf. Ps 7:12; 11:7); BDB 1049 s.v. מִשְׁפָּט 1.f (cf. Isa 26:8; Ps 10:5; Ezek 7:27).

5 tn Heb “Why does the way [= course of life] of the wicked prosper?”