9 ‘My head should be like a pool of water.
My eyes should be like a river of tears.
Then I would never stop crying
for my dear people who have died in war.
2 I would like to live in a hut in the desert.
Then I could leave my people.
I could forget about them.
They have all turned away from God.
They have not been faithful to him.
They are a crowd of people that nobody can trust.’
3 The Lord says,
‘The tongues of these people speak lies,
like the bows of soldiers shoot arrows.
They have become powerful in the land,
but they have used lies to do that.
They do more and more evil things,
and they do not respect me.
4 Be careful of your friends.
Do not even trust your brothers!
They will always try to cheat you.
All your friends will speak lies about you.
5 They deceive each other,
and they never tell the truth.
They have taught their tongues to speak lies.
They love to do bad things
and they cannot stop themselves.
6 They hurt and they deceive each other.
They do that more and more.
They refuse to respect me.’
That is what the Lord says.
7 So the Lord Almighty says this:
‘Listen! I will test my people,
like a man uses fire to make metal become pure.
I must punish them like this because they are so wicked.
There is nothing else that I can do!
8 Their tongues are like arrows that have poison.
They hurt people with their lies.
They speak kind words to their neighbours,
but they are looking for a way to cheat them.
9 I must certainly punish them for what they have done.
I will pay back this wicked nation for their sins.’
That is what the Lord says.
10 ‘I will weep for the mountains.
I will cry for the fields in the wilderness.
There is no grass for the animals to eat.
Nobody travels through those places.
There is no sound of cows and sheep.
The birds and the wild animals have all disappeared.’
11 The Lord replied,
‘I will make Jerusalem a heap of stones.
Only wild animals will live there.
I will destroy the towns of Judah
so that nobody can live in them.’
12 I said,
‘Nobody is wise enough to understand this. The Lord has not told anyone, so that he can explain it to others. Why has our land become like a desert so that nobody travels through it? Does anyone know the answer?’
13 The Lord answered, ‘It is because my people have not accepted the laws that I gave to them. They have not obeyed me. They have not lived in the way that I told them to live. 14 Instead, they have done whatever they wanted to do. They have served the gods of Baal, as their ancestors taught them to do.’ 15 So the Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says this: ‘I will punish my people with trouble and pain. I will give them food that is bitter. They will drink water that is poison. 16 I will send them away as prisoners. They will live among foreign nations that they had never heard about. Their ancestors had not heard about them either. I will send enemies to chase after them until I have destroyed them.’
17 The Lord Almighty said this:
‘Think about what is happening!
Call the women who weep at funerals.
Bring those women who know what to do.’
18 ‘Yes, tell them to come quickly
to sing funeral songs for us. [ a ]
Then tears will pour from our eyes,
and we will not stop weeping.
19 Listen to the people who are crying in Jerusalem!
They say,
“A terrible thing has happened to us!
We are very ashamed!
Our enemies have destroyed our houses.
Now we have to leave our land.” ’
20 ‘Now hear the Lord 's message, you women.
Listen to what he says to you.
Teach your daughters how to weep.
Teach each other this funeral song:
21 “Death has come to visit us!
It has come into our strong houses.
Death has taken away our children
who play in the streets.
It has taken away our young men
who meet together in the streets.”
22 The Lord says this:
Dead bodies of people will lie everywhere on the ground.
They will lie there like dung
that a farmer puts on his fields.
They will lie there like crops at harvest time
that nobody has picked up.’
23 The Lord says,
‘Wise people should not be proud of their wisdom.
Powerful people should not be proud of their power.
And rich people should not be proud that they are rich.
24 If they want to be proud about something,
they should be proud that they know me.
They should boast that they understand who I am.
I am the Lord .
I am faithful in my love for my people.
I always do what is right and fair.
It makes me happy when people live in that way too.’
25 The Lord says, ‘Be careful! Very soon I will punish all people who do not respect me. Those people may be circumcised, but if they do not respect me, I will punish them. 26 Those people include the Egyptians, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites and the people of Judah. I will also punish the people who live in the desert and who cut their hair short. Those people are not circumcised to give honour to me. The Israelites are the same. Their bodies are circumcised, but they do not want to obey my covenant with them.’
9 If my head were filled with water,
and if my eyes were a fountain of tears,
I would cry day and night for my people who have been destroyed.
2 If only I had a place in the desert—
a house where travelers spend the night—
so I could leave my people.
I could go away from them,
because they are all unfaithful to God.
They have all turned against him.
3 “They use their tongues like a bow;
lies fly from their mouths like arrows.
Lies, not truth,
have grown strong in this land.
They go from one sin to another.
They don’t know me.”
This is what the Lord said.
4 “Watch your neighbors!
Don’t trust your own brothers,
because every brother is a cheat.
Every neighbor talks behind your back.
5 Everyone lies to their neighbor.
No one speaks the truth.
The people of Judah have taught
their tongues to lie.
They sinned until they were too tired
to come back.
6 One bad thing followed another,
and lies followed lies.
The people refused to know me.”
This is what the Lord said.
7 So the Lord All-Powerful says,
“A worker heats metal in a fire to test it and see if it is pure.
I will test the people of Judah like that.
I have no other choice.
My people have sinned.
8 The people of Judah have tongues as sharp as arrows.
Their mouths speak lies.
They all speak kindly to their neighbors,
but they are secretly planning ways to attack them.
9 Should I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?”
This message is from the Lord .
“You know I should punish a nation such as this.
I should give it the punishment it deserves.”
10 I, Jeremiah, will cry for the mountains.
I will sing a funeral song for the empty fields,
because all the animals were taken away.
No one travels there now.
The sounds of cattle cannot be heard.
The birds have flown away,
and the animals are gone.
11 The Lord says, [ a ] “I will make the city of Jerusalem a pile of garbage.
It will be a home for jackals.
I will destroy the cities in the land of Judah,
so no one will live there.”
12 Is there a man who is wise enough to understand these things? Is there someone who has been taught by the Lord ? Can anyone explain his message? Why was the land ruined? Why was it made like an empty desert where no one goes?
13 The Lord answered, “It is because the people of Judah stopped following my teachings. I gave them my teachings, but they refused to listen to me. They did not follow my teachings. 14 The people of Judah lived their own way. They were stubborn. They followed the false god Baal. Their fathers taught them to follow those false gods.”
15 So the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says, “I will soon make the people of Judah eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter the people of Judah throughout other nations. They will live in strange nations that they and their fathers never knew about. I will send men with swords. They will kill the people of Judah. They will kill them until all the people are gone.”
17 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says:
“Now think about these things!
Call for the women who get paid to cry at funerals.
Send for the people who are good at that job.
18 The people say,
‘Let those women come quickly
and cry for us.
Then our eyes will fill with tears
that flow over our eyelids like streams of water.’
19 “The sound of loud crying is heard from Zion:
‘We are really ruined!
We are so ashamed!
We must leave our land,
because our houses have been destroyed.
Now our houses are only piles of rock.’”
20 Now, women of Judah, listen to the message from the Lord .
Listen to the words from his mouth.
Teach your daughters how to cry loudly.
Each of them must learn to sing this funeral song:
21 “Death has climbed in through our windows
and has come into our palaces.
Death has come to our children who play in the streets
and to the young men who meet in the public places.”
22 This is what you should say: “The Lord says,
‘Dead bodies will lie
in the fields like dung.
Their bodies will lie on the ground like grain a farmer has cut.
But there will be no one to gather them.’”
23 This is what the Lord says:
“The wise must not brag about their wisdom.
The strong men must not brag about their strength.
The rich must not brag about their money.
24 But if someone wants to brag, then let them brag about this:
Let them brag that they learned to know me.
Let them brag that they understand that I am the Lord ,
that I am kind and fair,
and that I do good things on earth.
I love this kind of bragging.”
This message is from the Lord .
25 This is what the Lord says: “The time is coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the body. 26 I am talking about the people of the nations of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all those who live in the desert. The circumcision they do is not the kind the Lord wants. But the people of Israel are not really circumcised either. They are not circumcised in their hearts. [ b ] ”
9 Oh that my head were waters, and mine 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 of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord .
4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
5 And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
6 Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord .
7 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?
8 Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
9 Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the Lord : shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.
11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
13 And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
15 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
17 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:
18 And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.
20 Yet hear the word of the Lord , O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.
21 For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.
22 Speak, Thus saith the Lord , Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.
23 Thus saith the Lord , Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord .
25 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord , that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;
26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.
9 [ a ] ( A ) Oh, that my head were waters
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For those slain of the ( B ) daughter of my people!
2 [ b ] ( C ) Oh that I had in the desert
A travelers’ lodging place;
So that I might leave my people
And go away from them!
For all of them are ( D ) adulterers,
An assembly of ( E ) treacherous people.
3 “They ( F ) bend their tongues like their bows;
Lies and not truth prevail in the land;
For they ( G ) proceed from evil to evil,
And they ( H ) do not know Me,” declares the Lord .
4 “Let everyone ( I ) be on guard against his neighbor,
And ( J ) do not trust any brother;
Because every ( K ) brother utterly [ c ] betrays,
And every neighbor ( L ) goes about as a slanderer.
5 Everyone ( M ) deceives his neighbor
And does not speak the truth.
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They ( N ) weary themselves committing wrongdoing.
6 Your ( O ) dwelling is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they ( P ) refuse to know Me,” declares the Lord .
7 Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says:
“Behold, I will refine them and ( Q ) put them to the test;
For ( R ) what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?
8 Their ( S ) tongue is a deadly arrow;
It speaks deceit;
With his mouth one ( T ) speaks peace to his neighbor,
But inwardly he ( U ) sets an ambush for him.
9 ( V ) Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord .
“Shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?
10 “I will take up a weeping and wailing for the ( W ) mountains,
And for the pastures of the ( X ) wilderness a song of mourning,
Because they are ( Y ) laid waste so that no one passes through,
And the sound of the livestock is not heard;
Both the ( Z ) birds of the sky and the animals have fled; they are gone.
11 I will make Jerusalem a ( AA ) heap of ruins,
A haunt of ( AB ) jackals;
And I will make the cities of Judah a ( AC ) desolation without inhabitant.”
12 Who is the ( AD ) wise person who may understand this? And who is he to whom ( AE ) the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? ( AF ) Why is the land destroyed, laid waste like the desert, so that no one passes through? 13 The Lord said, “Because they have ( AG ) abandoned My Law which I put before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it, 14 but have ( AH ) followed the stubbornness of their heart and the ( AI ) Baals, [ d ] as their ( AJ ) fathers taught them,” 15 therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, ( AK ) I will feed this people wormwood; and I will give them ( AL ) poisoned water to drink. 16 I will also ( AM ) scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the ( AN ) sword after them until I have put an end to them.”
17 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“Consider and call for the ( AO ) mourning women, that they may come;
And send for the [ e ] ( AP ) skillful women, that they may come!
18 Have them hurry and take up a wailing for us,
So that our ( AQ ) eyes may shed tears,
And our eyelids flow with water.
19 For a voice of ( AR ) wailing is heard from Zion:
‘ ( AS ) How devastated we are!
We are put to great shame,
For we have ( AT ) abandoned the land
Because they have torn down our homes.’”
20 Now hear the word of the Lord , you ( AU ) women,
And let your ears receive the word of His mouth;
Teach your daughters wailing,
And have every woman teach her neighbor a song of mourning.
21 For ( AV ) death has come up through our windows;
It has entered our palaces
To eliminate the ( AW ) children from the streets,
The young men from the public squares.
22 Speak, “This is what the Lord says:
‘The corpses of people will fall ( AX ) like dung on the open field,
And like the sheaf after the reaper,
But no one will gather them .’”
23 This is what the Lord says: “ ( AY ) Let no wise man boast of his wisdom, nor let the ( AZ ) mighty man boast of his might, nor a ( BA ) rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let the one who boasts ( BB ) boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who ( BC ) exercises [ f ] mercy, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for I ( BD ) delight in these things,” declares the Lord .
25 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord , “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet ( BE ) uncircumcised— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and ( BF ) all those inhabiting the desert who trim the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are ( BG ) uncircumcised of heart.”
9 [ a ] 1 Oh, that my head were a spring of water
and my eyes a fountain of tears! ( A )
I would weep ( B ) day and night
for the slain of my people. ( C )
2 Oh, that I had in the desert ( D )
a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers, ( E )
a crowd of unfaithful ( F ) people.
3 “They make ready their tongue
like a bow, to shoot lies; ( G )
it is not by truth
that they triumph [ b ] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
they do not acknowledge ( H ) me,”
declares the Lord .
4 “Beware of your friends; ( I )
do not trust anyone in your clan. ( J )
For every one of them is a deceiver, [ c ] ( K )
and every friend a slanderer. ( L )
5 Friend deceives friend, ( M )
and no one speaks the truth. ( N )
They have taught their tongues to lie; ( O )
they weary themselves with sinning.
6 You [ d ] live in the midst of deception; ( P )
in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord .
7 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:
“See, I will refine ( Q ) and test ( R ) them,
for what else can I do
because of the sin of my people?
8 Their tongue ( S ) is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors, ( T )
but in their hearts they set traps ( U ) for them. ( V )
9 Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the Lord .
“Should I not avenge ( W ) myself
on such a nation as this?”
10 I will weep and wail for the mountains
and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands. ( X )
They are desolate and untraveled,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
The birds ( Y ) have all fled
and the animals are gone.
11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap ( Z ) of ruins,
a haunt of jackals; ( AA )
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah ( AB )
so no one can live there.” ( AC )
12 Who is wise ( AD ) enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?
13 The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. ( AE ) 14 Instead, they have followed ( AF ) the stubbornness of their hearts; ( AG ) they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” 15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food ( AH ) and drink poisoned water. ( AI ) 16 I will scatter them among nations ( AJ ) that neither they nor their ancestors have known, ( AK ) and I will pursue them with the sword ( AL ) until I have made an end of them.” ( AM )
17 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Consider now! Call for the wailing women ( AN ) to come;
send for the most skillful of them.
18 Let them come quickly
and wail over us
till our eyes overflow with tears
and water streams from our eyelids. ( AO )
19 The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
‘How ruined ( AP ) we are!
How great is our shame!
We must leave our land
because our houses are in ruins.’”
20 Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord ;
open your ears to the words of his mouth. ( AQ )
Teach your daughters how to wail;
teach one another a lament. ( AR )
21 Death has climbed in through our windows ( AS )
and has entered our fortresses;
it has removed the children from the streets
and the young men ( AT ) from the public squares.
22 Say, “This is what the Lord declares:
“‘Dead bodies will lie
like dung ( AU ) on the open field,
like cut grain behind the reaper,
with no one to gather them.’”
23 This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom ( AV )
or the strong boast of their strength ( AW )
or the rich boast of their riches, ( AX )
24 but let the one who boasts boast ( AY ) about this:
that they have the understanding to know ( AZ ) me,
that I am the Lord , ( BA ) who exercises kindness, ( BB )
justice and righteousness ( BC ) on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord .
25 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord , “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh ( BD ) — 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places. [ e ] ( BE ) For all these nations are really uncircumcised, ( BF ) and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart. ( BG ) ”
