Jeremiah 9

1 Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!2 Oh, that I had in the wilderness A lodging place for travelers; That I might leave my people, And go from them! For they are all adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men.3 And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me, says the Lord.4 Everyone take heed to his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will walk with slanderers.5 Everyone will deceive his neighbor, And will not speak the truth; They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves to commit iniquity.6 Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me, says the Lord.7 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will refine them and try them; For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?8 Their tongue is an arrow shot out; It speaks deceit; One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, But in his heart he lies in wait.9 Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord. Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?10 I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, And for the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation, Because they are burned up, So that no one can pass through; Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle. Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled; They are gone.11 I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.12 Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through?13 And the Lord said, Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it,14 but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,15 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.16 I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.

The People Mourn in Judgment

17 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider and call for the mourning women, That they may come; And send for skillful wailing women, That they may come.18 Let them make haste And take up a wailing for us, That our eyes may run with tears, And our eyelids gush with water.19 For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: How we are plundered! We are greatly ashamed, Because we have forsaken the land, Because we have been cast out of our dwellings.20 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O women, And let your ear receive the word of His mouth; Teach your daughters wailing, And everyone her neighbor a lamentation.21 For death has come through our windows, Has entered our palaces, To kill off the children no longer to be outside! And the young men no longer on the streets!22 Speak, Thus says the Lord: Even the carcasses of men shall fall as refuse on the open field, Like cuttings after the harvester, And no one shall gather them. 23 Thus says the Lord: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight, says the Lord.25 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.

JEREMIAH 9

1 I wish that my eyes
were fountains of tears,
so I could cry day and night
for my people
who were killed.

2 I wish I could go into the desert
and find a hiding place
from all who are treacherous
and unfaithful to God.

The [Lord] Answers Jeremiah

3 The [Lord] replied:
Lies come from the mouths
of my people,
like arrows from a bow.
With each dishonest deed
their power increases,
and not one of them will admit
that I am God.

4 Jeremiah, all your friends
and relatives
tell lies about you,
so don't trust them.

5 They wear themselves out,
always looking for a new way
to cheat their friends.

6 Everyone takes advantage
of everyone else,
and no one will admit
that I am God.

7 And so I will purify
the hearts of my people
just as gold is purified
in a furnace.
I have no other choice.

8 They say they want peace,
but this lie is deadly,
like an arrow that strikes
when you least expect it.

9 Give me one good reason
not to punish them
as they deserve.
I, the [Lord] All-Powerful,
have spoken.

Jeremiah Weeps //for His People

10 I weep for the pastureland
in the hill country.
It's so barren and scorched
that no one travels there.
No cattle can be found there,
and birds and wild animals
have all disappeared.

11 I heard the [Lord] reply,
“When I am finished,
Jerusalem and the towns of Judah
will be piles of ruins
where only jackalst live.”

Why the Land //Was Destroyed

12 I said to the [Lord], “None of us can understand why the land has become like an uncrossable desert. Won't you explain why?”

13 The [Lord] said:
I destroyed the land because the people disobeyed me and rejected my laws and teachings. 14 They were stubborn and worshiped Baal, t just as their ancestors did. 15 So I, the [Lord] All-Powerful, the God of Israel, promise them poison to eat and drink.t

16 I'll scatter them in foreign countries that they and their ancestors have never even heard of. Finally, I will send enemy soldiers to kill every last one of them.

The Women Who Are Paid //To Weep

17 The [Lord] All-Powerful said,
“Make arrangements now
for the women who are paid
to weep at funerals, t
especially the women
who can cry the loudest.”

18 The people answered,
“Let them come quickly
and cry for us,
until our own eyes
are flooded with tears.

19 Now those of us on Zion cry,
‘We are ruined!
We can't stand the shame.
Our homes have been destroyed,
and we must leave our land.’

20 “We ask you women
to pay attention
to what the [Lord] says.
We will teach you a funeral song
that you can teach
your daughters and friends:

21 ‘We were in our fortress,
but death sneaked in
through our windows.
It even struck down
children at play
and our strongest young men.’

22 “The [Lord] has told us
the ground will be covered
with dead bodies,
like ungathered stalks of grain
or manure in a field.”

What the [Lord] Likes Best

23 The [Lord] says:
Don't brag about your wisdom
or strength or wealth.

24  t If you feel you must brag,
then have enough sense
to brag about worshiping me,
the [Lord].
What I like best
is showing kindness,
justice, and mercy
to everyone on earth.
25-26 Someday I will punish the nations of Egypt, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, and the tribes of the desert.t The men of these nations are circumcised, but they don't worship me. And it's the same with you people of Judah. Your bodies are circumcised, but your hearts are unchanged.