NET Bible
"I said,“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened? Who has a word from the LORD that can explain it? Why does the land lie in ruins? Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”"
— Jeremiah 9:12, NET Bible
“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?”
“Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken, that he may declare it? wherefore is the land perished and burned up like a wilderness, so that none passeth through? ”
“Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and [who is] he to whom the mouth of Yahweh has spoken, that he may declare it? why is the land perished and burned up like a wilderness, so that none passes through?”
“Who is the wise man, that may understand this, and to whom the word of the mouth of the Lord may come that he may declare this, why the land hath perished, and is burnt up like a wilderness, which none passeth through?”
“Who is the wise man able to see this? who is he to whom the word of the Lord has come, so that he may make it clear? why is the land given to destruction and burned up like a waste place, so that no one goes through?”
“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?”
I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the LORD.“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!”
The Coming Destruction Calls For Mourning I said,“I will weep and mourn for the grasslands on the mountains, I will sing a mournful song for the pastures in the wilderness because they are so scorched no one travels through them. The sound of livestock is no longer heard there. Even the birds in the sky and the wild animals in the fields have fled and are gone.”
The LORD said,“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. I will destroy the towns of Judah so that no one will be able to live in them.”
I said,“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened? Who has a word from the LORD that can explain it? Why does the land lie in ruins? Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”
The LORD answered,“This has happened because these people have rejected my laws which I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws.
Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance to the gods called Baal, as their fathers taught them to do.
So then, listen to what I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, say.‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment.