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 18:18

Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him

18:18 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 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 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.”

⁷ tn Heb “Let us smite him with our tongues.” It is clear from the context that this involved plots to kill him.