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 25:20

25:20 the foreigners living in Egypt; ⁴  all the kings of the land of Uz; ⁵  all the kings of the land of the Philistines, ⁶  the people of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, the people who had been left alive from Ashdod; ⁷ 

[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.”

[25:20]  ⁴ tn The meaning of this term and its connection with the preceding is somewhat uncertain. This word is used of the mixture of foreign people who accompanied Israel out of Egypt (Exod 12:38) and of the foreigners that the Israelites were to separate out of their midst in the time of Nehemiah (Neh 13:3). Most commentators interpret it here of the foreign people who were living in Egypt. (See BDB 786 s.v. I עֶרֶב and KBL 733 s.v. II עֶרֶב.)

[25:20]  ⁵ sn The land of Uz was Job’s homeland (Job 1:1). The exact location is unknown but its position here between Egypt and the Philistine cities suggests it is south of Judah, probably in the Arabian peninsula. Lam 4:21 suggests that it was near Edom.

[25:20]  ⁶ sn See further Jer 47:1-7 for the judgment against the Philistines. The Philistine cities were west of Judah.

[25:20]  ⁷ sn The Greek historian Herodotus reports that Ashdod had been destroyed under the Pharaoh who preceded Necho, Psammetichus.