This final sentence in Jeremiah 14:18 is notoriously difficult to translate. What is not clear is what the prophets and priests do not know. If they do not know the land, then the reference is to exile; the false religious leaders have been taken away by the enemy.1 The word for
at the start of sentence means that the more likely translation, however, is that it refers to the fact that these leaders are one of the primary causes of the devastation that Judah experiences; they have acted without knowledge of the Lord and have led the people astray.
18 If I go out into the field, behold, those pierced by the sword! And if I enter the city, behold, the diseases of famine! For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land and have no knowledge.’”