Jeremiah 9
9
# In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-26 is numbered 9:1-25. 1Oh, that my head were a spring of water
and my eyes a fountain of tears!
I would weep day and night
for the slain of my people.
2Oh, that I had in the desert
a lodging place for travellers,
so that I might leave my people
and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,
a crowd of unfaithful people.
3‘They make ready their tongue
like a bow, to shoot lies;
it is not by truth
that they triumph#9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
they do not acknowledge me,’
declares the Lord.
4‘Beware of your friends;
do not trust anyone in your clan.
For every one of them is a deceiver,#9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
and every friend a slanderer.
5Friend deceives friend,
and no-one speaks the truth.
They have taught their tongues to lie;
they weary themselves with sinning.
6You#9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular) live in the midst of deception;
in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,’
declares the Lord.
7Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:
‘See, I will refine and test them,
for what else can I do
because of the sin of my people?
8Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbours,
but in their hearts they set traps for them.
9Should I not punish them for this?’
declares the Lord.
‘Should I not avenge myself
on such a nation as this?’
10I will weep and wail for the mountains
and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.
They are desolate and untravelled,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
The birds have all fled
and the animals are gone.
11‘I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
a haunt of jackals;
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah
so that no-one can live there.’
12Who is wise 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?
13The Lord said, ‘It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. 14Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.’ 15Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.’
17This is what the Lord Almighty says:
‘Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come;
send for the most skilful of them.
18Let them come quickly
and wail over us
till our eyes overflow with tears
and water streams from our eyelids.
19The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
“How ruined we are!
How great is our shame!
We must leave our land
because our houses are in ruins.” ’
20Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;
open your ears to the words of his mouth.
Teach your daughters how to wail;
teach one another a lament.
21Death has climbed in through our windows
and has entered our fortresses;
it has removed the children from the streets
and the young men from the public squares.
22Say, ‘This is what the Lord declares:
‘ “Dead bodies will lie
like dung on the open field,
like cut corn behind the reaper,
with no-one to gather them.” ’
23This is what the Lord says:
‘Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
24but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness 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 – 26Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.#9:26 Or wilderness and who clip the hair by their foreheads For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.’
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Jeremiah 9: NIVUK
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
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Jeremiah 9
9
1 #Jeremiah 9:1–26 in the English Bible is 8:23–9:25 in the Hebrew Bible Oh that my head were waters,#Literally “Who he gives my head waters”
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
so that I might weep day and night,
for the slain of the daughter of my people.
2Oh that I had#Literally “Who he gives me” in the desert a place of overnight lodging for travelers,
that I may leave my people and go from them,
for all of them are adulterers,
a band of traitors.
3And they bend their tongue like their bow,
for falsehood and not truth is superior in the land,
for they go forth#Or “proceed” from evil to evil,
and they do not know me,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
A Nation Characterized by Deceit
4“Let everyone be on your guard against his neighbor,
and you must not trust in any brother,
for everyone surely betrays,
and every neighbor goes about with slander.
5And everyone deceives his neighbor,
and they do not speak the truth,
they have taught their tongues#Hebrew “tongue” to speak lies,#Hebrew “lie”
they are tired from going astray.
6Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit,
upon#Or “through” deceit they refuse to know me,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
7Therefore, thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“Look, I am about to refine them,
and I will test them,
for what else can I do,
because of the presence#Literally “faces” of the daughter of my people?
8Their tongue is a murderous arrow,
it speaks deceit.
With his mouth he speaks peace with his neighbor,
but in his inner parts he sets up his ambush.
9Because of these things shall I not punish them?” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“On a nation that is like this shall I not take revenge?
10For the mountains I lift up weeping and wailing,
and for the pastures of the desert a lament,
because they are laid waste so that no man passes through.
And the sounds#Hebrew “sound” of cattle are not heard,
from the birds#Hebrew “bird” of heaven to the animals#Hebrew “animal”
they have fled, they are gone.
11And I will make Jerusalem as heaps of ruins, a lair of jackals,
and the towns of Judah I will make a desolation, without inhabitants.#Literally “from no inhabitant”
12Who is the wise man that can understand this?
And to whom has the mouth of Yahweh spoken, so that he may declare it?
Why is the land destroyed?
It is laid waste like the desert#Or “wilderness” so that no one passes through.”
The Nation is Judged by Yahweh
13And Yahweh said, “Because of their forsaking my law that I set before#Literally “to the face of” them, and they have not obeyed my voice, and have not walked in it, 14but they went after the stubbornness of their heart, and after the Baals, which their ancestors#Or “fathers” taught them.” 15Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Look, I am feeding this people wormwood, and providing drink for them, water of poison, 16and I will scatter them among the nations that they have not known, they and their ancestors,#Or “fathers” and I will send the sword after them until I bring them to an end.”
17Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“Consider closely, and call for the wailing women, so that they come,
and for the skillful women, so that they come.
18And let them hasten,
and let them lift up wailing over us,
so that our eyes may melt with tears,
and our eyelids may flow with water.
19For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion,
‘How we are devastated!
We are very ashamed because we have left the land,
because they have overthrown our dwelling places.’
20For hear, O women, the word of Yahweh,
and let your ear receive the word of his mouth,
and teach your daughters a lamentation,
and each woman her neighbor a lament.
21For death has come into our windows,
it has entered into our fortresses,
to cut off the children#Hebrew “child” from the streets,#Hebrew “street”
the young men from the public squares.
22Speak, ‘thus declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh:
“The dead body of the human will fall
like dung upon the surface of the field,
and like cut grain behind the reaper,
and there is no one who gathers.” ’ ”
The Things in Which Yahweh Delights
23Thus says Yahweh,
“The wise man must not boast in his wisdom,
and the warrior must not boast in his might,
the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.
24But only#Literally “But it” in this must the one who boasts boast,
that he has insight,
and that he knows me,
that I am Yahweh,
showing loyal love, justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for in these things I delight,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
The Way of the Nations
25“Look, days are coming,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “and I will call into account all those who are circumcised in the foreskin: 26Egypt, Judah, and Edom, and the Ammonites,#Literally “sons/children of Ammon” and Moab, and all those who are trimmed to the side, those who live in the desert,#Or “wilderness” for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”
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