Discovery BoxJeremiah 9:12-14 
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?”
9:13 The Lord answered, “This has happened because these people have rejected my laws which I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws. 4 9:14 Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance to 5 the gods called Baal, 6 as their fathers 7 taught them to do.
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 “and they have not walked in it (with “it” referring to “my law”).
5 tn Heb “they have gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.
6 tn Heb “the Baals,” referring either to the pagan gods called “Baals” or the images of Baal (so NLT).
7 tn Or “forefathers,” or “ancestors.” Here the referent could be the immediate parents or, by their example, more distant ancestors.
