Jeremiah 9:12

9:12 I said, ¹ 

“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened? ² 

Who has a word from the Lord that can explain it? ³ 

Why does the land lie in ruins?

Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”

Jeremiah 9:23

9:23 ⁴ The Lord says,

“Wise people should not boast that they are wise.

Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. ⁵ 

Rich people should not boast that they are rich. ⁶ 

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¹ tn The words, “I said” are not in the text. It is not clear that a shift in speaker has taken place. However, the words of the verse are very unlikely to be a continuation of the Lord’s threat. It is generally assumed that these are the words of Jeremiah and that a dialogue is going on between him and the Lord in vv. 9-14. That assumption is accepted here.

² tn Heb “Who is the wise man that he may understand this?”

³ tn Heb “And [who is the man] to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken that he may explain it?”

⁴ sn It is not always clear why verses were placed in their present position in the editorial process of collecting Jeremiah’s sermons and the words the Lord spoke to him (see Jer 36:4, 32 for reference to two of these collections). Here it is probable that vv. 23-26 were added as a further answer to the question raised in v. 12.

⁵ tn Or “Strong people should not brag that they are strong.”

⁶ tn Heb “…in their wisdom…in their power…in their riches.”