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Jeremiah 9:12-14
New English Translation
Jeremiah 9:12-14
New English Translation
12 I said,[a]
“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened?[b]
Who has a word from the Lord that can explain it?[c]
Why does the land lie in ruins?
Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”
13 The Lord answered, “This has happened because these people have rejected my laws that I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws.[d] 14 Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance to[e] the gods called Baal,[f] as their fathers[g] taught them to do.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Jeremiah 9:12 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.
- Jeremiah 9:12 tn Heb “Who is the wise man that he may understand this?”
- Jeremiah 9:12 tn Heb “And [who is the man] to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may explain it?”
- Jeremiah 9:13 tn Heb “and they have not walked in it [with “it” referring to “my law”].”
- Jeremiah 9:14 tn Heb “they have gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note at 2:5 for the idiom.
- Jeremiah 9:14 tn Heb “the Baals,” referring either to the pagan gods called “Baals” or the images of Baal (so NLT).
- Jeremiah 9:14 tn Or “forefathers,” or “ancestors.” Here the referent could be the immediate parents or, by their example, more distant ancestors.
New English Translation (NET)
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