Jeremiah 9:23

9:23 ¹ The Lord says,

“Wise people should not boast that they are wise.

Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. ² 

Rich people should not boast that they are rich. ³ 

Jeremiah 9:1

9:1 (8:23) ⁴  I wish that my head were a well full of water ⁵ 

and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!

If they were, I could cry day and night

for those of my dear people ⁶  who have been killed.

Colossians 1:29

1:29 Toward this goal ⁷  I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully ⁸  works in me.

¹ 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.

² tn Or “Strong people should not brag that they are strong.”

³ tn Heb “…in their wisdom…in their power…in their riches.”

⁴ sn Beginning with 9:1, the verse numbers through 9:26 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:1 ET = 8:23 HT, 9:2 ET = 9:1 HT, 9:3 ET = 9:2 HT, etc., through 9:26 ET = 9:25 HT. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

⁵ tn Heb “I wish that my head were water.”

⁶ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

⁷ tn The Greek phrase εἴς ὅ (eis Jo, “toward which”) implies “movement toward a goal” and has been rendered by the English phrase “Toward this goal.”

⁸ tn The prepositional phrase ἐν δυνάμει (en dunamei) seems to be functioning adverbially, related to the participle, and has therefore been translated “powerfully.”