Yeremia 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 

Yeremia 10:23

10:23 Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. ⁴ 

It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them. ⁵ 

[9:23]  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.

[9:23]  ² tn Or “Strong people should not brag that they are strong.”

[9:23]  ³ tn Heb “…in their wisdom…in their power…in their riches.”

[10:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “Not to the man his way.” For the nuance of “fate, destiny, or the way things turn out” for the Hebrew word “way” see Hag 1:5, Isa 40:27 and probably Ps 49:13 (cf. KBL 218 s.v. דֶּרֶךְ 5). For the idea of “control” or “hold in one’s power” for the preposition “to” see Ps 3:8 (cf. BDB 513 s.v. לְ 5.b[a]).

[10:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “Not to a man the walking and the establishing his step.”