Keraia
Jeremiah 9

Jeremiah 9:12

A Lament over Zion · Jeremiah 9:1–26
Read Jeremiah 9

Translations

Modern
Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so no one can pass through it?
Traditional
Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
Literal
Who is the wise man that he may understand this? And to whom has the mouth of YHWH spoken, that he may declare it? Because of what has the land perished and burned up like a wilderness, without one passing through?
Latin
Quis est vir sapiens qui intelligat hoc, et ad quem verbum oris Domini fiat, ut annuntiet istud, quare perierit terra, et exusta sit quasi desertum, eo quod non sit qui pertranseat?

Original

Hebrew
English
Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so no one can pass through it?

Notes

Jeremiah 9:12

It is unclear who asks these three questions. It could be the people or Jeremiah. The first two questions show frustration because the Lord's message about the religious and political situation seemed confusing. The Lord's words appeared too harsh and extreme. The third question shows anger about the land being desolated. The questioner seems to ask where to find the Lord's wisdom and goodness in these events.

Jeremiah 9:3–16

The heavenly court was still in session (see study note on Jeremiah 2:9). The divine Judge explained the charges against the people and justified the harsh verdict. Jeremiah interrupted the Lord’s speech twice to respond to the Lord’s messages (Jeremiah 9:10, 12).

Jeremiah 8:18–9:26

The priests in the Temple memorized and repeated prayers as part of their rituals. They believed using the exact words was crucial; otherwise, the prayers lost their magical power. The character of the priests saying the prayers was not very important. This was also true for lamentations. In contrast, Jeremiah's prayers and lamentations were spontaneous and deeply personal.

Theme notes and profiles

The New Covenant

Events

Glossary

Bible, Manuscripts and Text of the (Old Testament) Book of Jeremiah Jeremiah (Person)

Topics

Prophecies Concerning Israel: Prophecies Concerning of War and Other Judgments War: Evils of