Jeremiah 9:12

Jeremiah 9:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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?
• New International Version (NIV)Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through?

Context of Jeremiah 9:12

10I will weep for the mountains and wail for the wilderness pastures. For they are desolate and empty of life; the lowing of cattle is heard no more; the birds and wild animals have all fled. 11“I will make Jerusalem into a heap of ruins,” says the Lord. “It will be a place haunted by jackals. The towns of Judah will be ghost towns, with no one living in them.” Who is wise enough to understand all this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it to others? Why has the land been so ruined that no one dares to travel through it? 13The Lord replies, “This has happened because my people have abandoned my instructions; they have refused to obey what I said. 14Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them.

Jeremiah 9:12 word by word

מִֽי־הָאִ֤ישׁ הֶֽחָכָם֙ וְיָבֵ֣ן אֶת־זֹ֔את וַאֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֧ר פִּֽי־יְהוָ֛ה אֵלָ֖יו וְיַגִּדָ֑הּ עַל־מָה֙ אָבְדָ֣ה הָאָ֔רֶץ נִצְּתָ֥ה כַמִּדְבָּ֖ר מִבְּלִ֖י עֹבֵֽר׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• the wiseחָכָםchâkâm · wiseH2450
• manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• that may understandבִּיןbîyn · to understandH995
• to whom the mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• hath spokenדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• that he may declareנָגַדnâgad · to tellH5046
• it, for what the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• perishethאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
• is burned upיָצַתyâtsath · to kindleH3341
• like a wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
• that none passeth throughעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674

Cross-references for Jeremiah 9:12

• Deuteronomy 32:29Oh, that they were wise and could understand this! Oh, that they might know their fate!
• Psalms 107:43Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.
• Hosea 14:9Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.
• Matthew 24:15“The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)
• Revelation 1:3God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.
• Jeremiah 5:19“And when your people ask, ‘Why did the Lord our God do all this to us?’ you must reply, ‘You rejected him and gave yourselves to foreign gods in your own land. Now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.’
• Jeremiah 16:10“When you tell the people all these things, they will ask, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such terrible things against us? What have we done to deserve such treatment? What is our sin against the Lord our God?’
• Jeremiah 22:8“People from many nations will pass by the ruins of this city and say to one another, ‘Why did the Lord destroy such a great city?’
• Deuteronomy 29:22“Then the generations to come, both your own descendants and the foreigners who come from distant lands, will see the devastation of the land and the diseases the Lord inflicts on it.
• 1 Kings 9:8And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled and will gasp in horror. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’
• Psalms 107:34He turns the fruitful land into salty wastelands, because of the wickedness of those who live there.
• Ezekiel 14:23When you meet them and see their behavior, you will understand that these things are not being done to Israel without cause. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
• Ezekiel 22:25Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They make many widows in the land.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 9:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Who is the wise man - To whom has God revealed these things? He is the truly wise man. But it is to his prophet alone that God has revealed these things, and the speedy fulfillment of the predictions will show that the prophet has not spoken of himself.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10-22Verses 10-22 The punishment described in general terms in the preceding three verses is now detailed at great length. Jeremiah 9:10 The habitations i. e - the temporary encampments of the shepherds (see Jeremiah 6:3). So that none can … - Or, “They are parched up, with no man to pass through them; neither do they hear the voice of cattle; from the birds of the heaven even to the beasts they “are fled, they are gone.” Jeremiah 9:11 Dragons - Rather…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-22Verses 12-22 In Zion the voice of joy and praise used to be heard, while the people kept close to God; but sin has altered the sound, it is now the voice of lamentation. Unhumbled hearts lament their calamity, but not their sin, which is the cause of it. Let the doors be shut ever so fast, death steals upon us. It enters the palaces of princes and great men, though stately, strongly built, and guarded. Nor are those more safe that are abroad; death cuts…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12It 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.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. Rather, "Who is a wise man? (that is, Whosoever has inspired wisdom, 2Pe 3:15); let him understand this (weigh well the evils impending, and the causes of their being sent); and he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken (that is, whosoever is prophetically inspired), let him declare it to his fellow countrymen," if haply they may be roused to repentance, the only hope of safety.Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 9:12

• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• War

In the dictionaries

• Wise, Man
• Adulterer
• Arrow
• Desolate
• Heaven
• Perish
• Teach
• Wait
• Covenant, the New
• Exodus, the Book of

Commentaries on Jeremiah 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings