Discovery BoxJeremiah 9:12 
Context“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 18:18
Context18:18 Then some people 4 said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! 5 There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. 6 Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! 7 Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”
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
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
4 tn Heb “They.” The referent is unidentified; “some people” has been used in the translation.
5 tn Heb “Let us make plans against Jeremiah.” See 18:18 where this has sinister overtones as it does here.
6 tn Heb “Instruction will not perish from priest, counsel from the wise, word from the prophet.”
sn These are the three channels through whom God spoke to his people in the OT. See Jer 8:8-10 and Ezek 7:26.
7 tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.
