Jeremiah 9

1 t 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 t Oh that I had in the desert
a travelers' lodging place,
that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
For they are all adulterers,
a company of treacherous men.
3  They bend their tongue like a bow;
falsehood and not truth has grown strongt in the land;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
and they do not know me, declares the Lord.

4  Let everyone beware of his neighbor,
and put no trust in any brother,
for every brother is a deceiver,
and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.
5  Everyone deceives his neighbor,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
they weary themselves committing iniquity.
6  Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,
they refuse to know me, declares the Lord.

7  Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
"Behold, I will refine them and test them,
for what else can I do, because of my people?
8  Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceitfully;
with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor,
but in his heart he plans an ambush for him.
9  Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?

10  "I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,
and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness,
because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
both the birds of the air and the beasts
have fled and are gone.
11  I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
a lair of jackals,
and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
without inhabitant."

12 Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through?13 And the Lord says: "Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it,14 but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.15 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink.16 I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them."

17  Thus says the Lord of hosts:
"Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;
send for the skillful women to come;
18  let them make haste and raise a wailing over us,
that our eyes may run down with tears
and our eyelids flow with water.
19  For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
'How we are ruined!
We are utterly shamed,
because we have left the land,
because they have cast down our dwellings.'"

20  Hear, O women, the word of the Lord,
and let your ear receive the word of his mouth;
teach to your daughters a lament,
and each to her neighbor a dirge.
21  For death has come up into our windows;
it has entered our palaces,
cutting off the children from the streets
and the young men from the squares.
22  Speak, "Thus declares the Lord:
'The dead bodies of men shall fall
like dung upon the open field,
like sheaves after the reaper,
and none shall gather them.'"

23 Thus says the Lord: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord."

25 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh—26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart."

Jeremiah 9

1 s I wish that my head were a well full of watert
and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!
If they were, I could cry day and night
for those of my dear peoplet who have been killed.

2 I wish I had a lodging place in the desert
where I could spend some time like a weary traveler.t
Then I would desert my people
and walk away from them
because they are all unfaithful to God,
a congregationt of people that has been disloyal to him.t

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

3 The Lord says,t
“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.
Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies.t
They have become powerful in the land,
but they have not done so by honest means.t
Indeed, they do one evil thing after anothert
and do not pay attention to me.t

4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.
He must not even trust any of his relatives.t
For every one of them will find some way to cheat him.ts
And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

5 One friend deceives another
and no one tells the truth.
These people have trained themselvest to tell lies.
They do wrong and are unable to repent.

6 They do one act of violence after another,
and one deceitful thing after another.s
They refuse to pay attention to me,”t
says the Lord.

7 Therefore the Lord who rules over all says,ts
“I will now purify them in the fires of afflictiont and test them.
The wickedness of my dear peoplet has left me no choice.
What else can I do?s

8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows.s
They are always telling lies.t
Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths.
But their minds are thinking up ways to trap them.t

9 I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!”ts

The Coming Destruction Calls For Mourning

10 I said,t
“I will weep and mournt for the grasslands on the mountains,t
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.”

11 The Lord said,t
“I will make Jerusalems a heap of ruins.
Jackals will make their home there.t
I will destroy the towns of Judah
so that no one will be able to live in them.”

12 I said,t
“Who is wise enough to understand why this has happened?t
Who has a word from the Lord that can explain it?t
Why does the land lie in ruins?
Why is it as scorched as a desert through which no one travels?”
13 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.t14 Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance tot the gods called Baal,t as their fatherst taught them to do.15 So then, listen to what I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all,ts say.t ‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment.t

16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestorst have known anything about. I will send people chasing after them with swordst until I have destroyed them.’”s

17 The Lord who rules over allts told me to say to this people,t
“Take note of what I say.t
Call for the women who mourn for the dead!
Summon those who are the most skilled at it!”t

18 I said, “Indeed,t let them come quickly and sing a song of mourning for us.
Let them wail loudly until tears stream from our own eyes
and our eyelids overflow with water.

19 For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion.
They will wail,ts ‘We are utterly ruined!t We are completely disgraced!
For our houses have been torn down
and we must leave our land.’”t

20 I said,t
“So now,t you wailing women, hear what the Lord says.ts
Open your ears to the words from his mouth.
Teach your daughters this mournful song,
and each of you teach your neighbort this lament.

21 ‘Death has climbed ins through our windows.
It has entered into our fortified houses.
It has taken away our children who play in the streets.
It has taken away our young men who gather in the city squares.’

22 Tell your daughters and neighbors, ‘The Lord says,
“The dead bodies of people will lie scattered everywhere
like manure scattered on a field.
They will lie scattered on the ground
like grain that has been cut down but has not been gathered.”’”t

23 s The Lord says,
“Wise people should not boast that they are wise.
Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful.t
Rich people should not boast that they are rich.t

24 If people want to boast, they should boast about this:
They should boast that they understand and know me.
They should boast that they know and understand
that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth
and that I desire people to do these things,”t
says the Lord.
25 The Lord says, “Watch out!t The time is soon coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh.t

26 That is, I will punish the Egyptians, the Judeans, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples.t I will do so because none of the people of those nations are really circumcised in the Lord’s sight.ts Moreover, none of the people of Israelt are circumcised when it comes to their hearts.”t