Yeremia 2:15

2:15 Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him;

they raise their voices in triumph. ¹ 

They have laid his land waste;

his cities have been burned down and deserted. ² 

Yeremia 9:12

9:12 I said, ³ 

“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened? ⁴ 

Who has a word from the Lord that can explain it? ⁵ 

Why does the land lie in ruins?

Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”

[2:15]  ¹ tn Heb “Lions shout over him, they give out [raise] their voices.”

[2:15]  sn The reference to lions is here a metaphor for the Assyrians (and later the Babylonians, see Jer 50:17). The statement about lions roaring over their prey implies that the prey has been vanquished.

[2:15]  ² tn Heb “without inhabitant.”

[9:12]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “Who is the wise man that he may understand this?”

[9:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “And [who is the man] to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken that he may explain it?”