Jeremiah 2:15

2:15 Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him;

they raise their voices in triumph. ¹ 

They have laid his land waste;

his cities have been burned down and deserted. ² 

Jeremiah 9:12

9:12 I said, ³ 

“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened? ⁴ 

Who has a word from the Lord that can explain it? ⁵ 

Why does the land lie in ruins?

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

¹ tn Heb “Lions shout over him, they give out [raise] their voices.”

² tn Heb “without inhabitant.”

³ 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.

⁴ tn Heb “Who is the wise man that he may understand this?”

⁵ tn Heb “And [who is the man] to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken that he may explain it?”