23 Thus said Jehovah: Let not the wise boast himself in his wisdom, Nor let the mighty boast himself in his might, Let not the rich boast himself in his riches,
but the foolish things of the world did God choose, that the wise He may put to shame; and the weak things of the world did God choose that He may put to shame the strong; and the base things of the world, and the things despised did God choose, and the things that are not, that the things that are He may make useless -- that no flesh may glory before Him;
If I have made gold my confidence, And to the pure gold have said, `My trust,' If I rejoice because great `is' my wealth, And because abundance hath my hand found,
Let no one deceive himself; if any one doth seem to be wise among you in this age -- let him become a fool, that he may become wise, for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it hath been written, `Who is taking the wise in their craftiness;' and again, `The Lord doth know the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain.'
And Ben-Hadad sendeth unto him, and saith, `Thus do the gods to me, and thus do they add, if the dust of Samaria suffice for handfuls for all the people who `are' at my feet.' And the king of Israel answereth and saith, `Speak ye: let not him who is girding on boast himself as him who is loosing `his armour'.'
the king hath answered and said, Is not this that great Babylon that I have built, for the house of the kingdom, in the might of my strength, and for the glory of mine honour? `While the word is `in' the king's mouth a voice from the heavens hath fallen: To thee they are saying: O Nebuchadnezzar the king, the kingdom hath passed from thee,
thou, O king, God Most High, a kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and honour, gave to Nebuchadnezzar thy father: and because of the greatness that He gave to him, all peoples, nations, and languages were trembling and fearing before him: whom he willed he was slaying, and whom he willed he was keeping alive, and whom he willed he was raising up, and whom he willed he was making low; and when his heart was high, and his spirit was strong to act proudly, he hath been caused to come down from the throne of his kingdom, and his glory they have caused to pass away from him, and from the sons of men he is driven, and his heart with the beasts hath been like, and with the wild asses `is' his dwelling; the herb like oxen they cause him to eat, and by the dew of the heavens is his body wet, till that he hath known that God Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and whom He willeth He raiseth up over it. `And thou, his son, Belshazzar, hast not humbled thy heart, though all this thou hast known; and against the Lord of the heavens thou hast lifted up thyself; and the vessels of His house they have brought in before thee, and thou, and thy great men, thy wives, and thy concubines, are drinking wine with them, and gods of silver, and of gold, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone, that are not seeing, nor hearing, nor knowing, thou hast praised: and the God in whose hand `is' thy breath, and all thy ways, Him thou hast not honoured.
and I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast many good things laid up for many years, be resting, eat, drink, be merry. `And God said to him, Unthinking one! this night thy soul they shall require from thee, and what things thou didst prepare -- to whom shall they be?
and the populace were shouting, `The voice of a god, and not of a man;' and presently there smote him a messenger of the Lord, because he did not give the glory to God, and having been eaten of worms, he expired.
for it hath been written, `I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will bring to nought;' where `is' the wise? where the scribe? where a disputer of this age? did not God make foolish the wisdom of this world? for, seeing in the wisdom of God the world through the wisdom knew not God, it did please God through the foolishness of the preaching to save those believing.
and if bitter zeal ye have, and rivalry in your heart, glory not, nor lie against the truth; this wisdom is not descending from above, but earthly, physical, demon-like, for where zeal and rivalry `are', there is insurrection and every evil matter;
And there goeth out a man of the duellists from the camps of the Philistines, Goliath `is' his name, from Gath; his height `is' six cubits and a span, and a helmet of brass `is' on his head, and `with' a scaled coat of mail he `is' clothed, and the weight of the coat of mail `is' five thousand shekels of brass, and a frontlet of brass `is' on his feet, and a javelin of brass between his shoulders, and the wood of his spear `is' like a beam of weavers', and the flame of his spear `is' six hundred shekels of iron, and the bearer of the buckler is going before him. And he standeth and calleth unto the ranks of Israel, and saith to them, `Why are ye come out to set in array the battle? `am' not I the Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose for you a man, and let him come down unto me; if he be able to fight with me, and have smitten me, then we have been to you for servants; and if I am able for him, and have smitten him, then ye have been to us for servants, and have served us.' And the Philistine saith, `I have reproached the ranks of Israel this day; give to me a man, and we fight together.'
The king is not saved by the multitude of a force. A mighty man is not delivered, By abundance of power. A false thing `is' the horse for safety, And by the abundance of his strength He doth not deliver.
Those trusting on their wealth, And in the multitude of their riches, Do shew themselves foolish. A brother doth no one at all ransom, He doth not give to God his atonement. And precious `is' the redemption of their soul, And it hath ceased -- to the age. And still he liveth for ever, He seeth not the pit. For he seeth wise men die, Together the foolish and brutish perish, And have left to others their wealth. Their heart `is': Their houses `are' to the age, Their tabernacles to all generations. They proclaimed their names over the lands. And man in honour doth not remain, He hath been like the beasts, they have been cut off. This their way `is' folly for them, And their posterity with their sayings are pleased. Selah.
And the righteous see, And fear, and laugh at him. `Lo, the man who maketh not God his strong place, And trusteth in the abundance of his riches, He is strong in his mischiefs.'
And I saw that there is an advantage to wisdom above folly, like the advantage of the light above the darkness. The wise! -- his eyes `are' in his head, and the fool in darkness is walking, and I also knew that one event happeneth with them all; and I said in my heart, `As it happeneth with the fool, it happeneth also with me, and why am I then more wise?' And I spake in my heart, that also this `is' vanity: That there is no remembrance to the wise -- with the fool -- to the age, for that which `is' already, `in' the days that are coming is all forgotten, and how dieth the wise? with the fool!
And it hath come to pass, When the Lord doth fulfil all His work In mount Zion and in Jerusalem, I see concerning the fruit of the greatness Of the heart of the king of Asshur. And concerning the glory of the height of his eyes. For he hath said, `By the power of my hand I have wrought, And by my wisdom, for I have been intelligent, And I remove borders of the peoples, And their chief ones I have spoiled, And I put down as a mighty one the inhabitants,
`And now, negotiate, I pray thee, with my lord the king of Asshur, and I give to thee two thousand horses, if thou art able to put for thee riders on them. And how dost thou turn back the face of one captain of the least of the servants of my lord, and dost trust for thee on Egypt, for chariot and for horsemen?
`Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because thy heart hath been high, And thou dost say: A god I `am', The habitation of God I have inhabited, In the heart of the seas, And thou `art' man, and not God, And thou givest out thy heart as the heart of God, Lo, thou `art' wiser than Daniel, No hidden thing have they concealed from thee. By thy wisdom and by thine understanding Thou hast made for thee wealth, And makest gold and silver in thy treasuries. By the abundance of thy wisdom, Through thy merchandise, Thou hast multiplied thy wealth, And high is thy heart through thy wealth. Therefore, thus said the Lord Jehovah: Because of thy giving out thy heart as the heart of God, Therefore, lo, I am bringing in against thee strangers, The terrible of the nations, And they have drawn out their swords Against the beauty of thy wisdom, And they have pierced thy brightness. To destruction they bring thee down, Thou diest by the deaths of the wounded, in the heart of the seas. Dost thou really say, `I `am' God,' Before him who is slaying thee? And thou `art' man, and not God, In the hand of him who is piercing thee.
And perished hath refuge from the swift, And the strong strengtheneth not his power, And the mighty delivereth not his soul. And the handler of the bow standeth not, And the swift with his feet delivereth not `himself', And the rider of the horse delivereth not his soul. And the courageous of heart among the mighty, Naked doth flee in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah!
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 9
Commentary on Jeremiah 9 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Jeremiah 9:1. "Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging-place of wayfarers! then would I leave my people, and go away from them. For they be all adulterers, a crew of faithless ones. Jeremiah 9:2. They bend their tongue like their bow with lying; and not according to faithfulness do they manage in the land, but go on from evil to evil, and me they know not, saith Jahve. Jeremiah 9:3. Beware each of his neighbour, and trust not in any brother; for every brother supplanteth, and every friend goeth slandering. Jeremiah 9:4. And one overreaCheth the other, and truth they speak not; they teach their tongue to speak lies, to deal perversely they weary themselves. Jeremiah 9:5. Thy dwelling is in the midst of deceit; in deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jahveh. Jeremiah 9:6. Therefore thus hath spoken Jahveh of hosts: Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how should I deal in regard to the daughter of my people? Jeremiah 9:7. A deadly arrow is their tongue; they speak deceit; with his mouth one speaketh peace with his neighbour, and inwardly within him he layeth ambush. Jeremiah 9:8. Shall I not visit this upon them? saith Jahveh; or on such a people as this shall not my soul take vengeance?"