Jeremiah 9

1 If my head were [a spring of] water,
my eyes a fountain of tears,
I would weep day and night
over the slain of my dear people.

2 If only I had a traveler's lodging place
in the wilderness,
I would abandon my people
and depart from them,
for they are all adulterers,
a solemn assembly of treacherous people.

3 They bent their tongues [like] their bows;
lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land,
for they proceed from one evil to another,
and they do not take Me into account.
[This is] the Lord's declaration.

Imminent Ruin and Exile

4 Everyone has to be on guard against his friend.
Don't trust any brother,
for every brother will certainly deceive,
and every friend spread slander.
5 Each one betrays his friend;
no one tells the truth.
They have taught their tongues to speak lies;
they wear themselves out doing wrong.

6 You live in [a world] of deception.
In [their] deception they refuse to know Me.
[This is] the Lord's declaration.

7 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says:

I am about to refine them and test them,
for what else can I do
because of My dear people?
8 Their tongues are deadly arrows-
they speak deception.
With his mouth
a man speaks peaceably with his friend,
but inwardly he sets up an ambush.

9 Should I not punish them for these things?
[This is] the Lord's declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself
on such a nation as this?

10 I will raise weeping and a lament
over the mountains,
a dirge over the wilderness grazing land,
for they have been so scorched
that no one passes through.
The sound of cattle is no longer heard.
From the birds of the sky to the animals,
[everything] has fled-they have gone away.

11 I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble,
a jackals' den.
I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
an uninhabited place.

12 Who is the man wise enough to understand this? Who has the Lord spoken to, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a wilderness, so no one can pass through?
13 The Lord said, "It is because they abandoned My instruction that I set in front of them and did not obey My voice or walk according to it. 14 Instead, they followed the stubbornness of their hearts and followed after the Baals as their fathers taught them." 15 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: "I am about to feed this people wormwood and give them poisonous water to drink.

16 I will scatter them among the nations that they and their fathers have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off."

Mourning over Judah

17 This is what the Lord of Hosts says:

Consider, and summon the women who mourn;
send for the skillful women.
18 Let them come quickly to raise a lament over us
so that our eyes may overflow with tears,
our eyelids soaked with weeping.

19 For a sound of lamentation is heard from Zion:
How devastated we are.
We are greatly ashamed,
for we have abandoned the land;
our dwellings have been torn down.

20 Now hear the word of the Lord, you women.
Pay attention to the word of His mouth.
Teach your daughters a lament
and one another a dirge,

21 for Death has climbed through our windows;
it has entered our fortresses,
cutting off children from the streets,
young men from the squares.

22 Speak as follows:
This is what the Lord says:

Human corpses will fall
like manure on the surface of the field,
like newly cut grain after the reaper
with no one to gather [it].

Boast in the Lord

23 This is what the Lord says:

The wise man must not boast in his wisdom;
the strong man must not boast in his strength;
the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.

24 But the one who boasts should boast in this,
that he understands and knows Me-
that I am the Lord, showing faithful love,
justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for I delight in these things.
[This is] the Lord's declaration.
25 "The days are coming"-the Lord's declaration-"when I will punish all the circumcised yet uncircumcised:

26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair on their temples. All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in 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 pasture land
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 have 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 worshipped 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,
“Send 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 stalks of ungathered grain
or like manure.”

What the Lord likes best

23 The Lord says:
Don't boast about your wisdom
or strength or wealth.

24 If you feel you must boast,t
then have enough sense
to boast about worshipping me,
the Lord.
What I like best
is showing kindness,
justice, and mercy
to everyone on earth.
25-26 Some day 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.