Jeremiah 9:12-14

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?”

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.

[9:12]  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.

[9:12]  ² tn Heb “Who is the wise man that he may understand this?”

[9:12]  ³ tn Heb “And [who is the man] to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken that he may explain it?”

[9:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “and they have not walked in it (with “it” referring to “my law”).

[9:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “they have gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.

[9:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the Baals,” referring either to the pagan gods called “Baals” or the images of Baal (so NLT).

[9:14]  ⁹ tn Or “forefathers,” or “ancestors.” Here the referent could be the immediate parents or, by their example, more distant ancestors.