Jeremiah 9
9
1Oh, #Is. 22:4; Jer. 10:19; Lam. 2:18that 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!
2Oh, that I had in the wilderness
A lodging place for travelers;
That I might leave my people,
And go from them!
For #Jer. 5:7, 8; 23:10; Hos. 4:2they are all adulterers,
An assembly of treacherous men.
3“And like their bow #Ps. 64:3; Is. 59:4; Jer. 9:8; Hos. 4:1, 2they have bent their tongues for lies.
They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.
For they proceed from #Jer. 4:22; 13:23evil to evil,
And they #Judg. 2:10; 1 Sam. 2:12; Jer. 4:22; Hos. 4:1; 1 Cor. 15:34do not know Me,” says the Lord.
4“Everyone#Ps. 12:2; Prov. 26:24, 25; Jer. 9:8; Mic. 7:5, 6 take heed to his neighbor,
And do not trust any brother;
For every brother will utterly supplant,
And every neighbor will #Ps. 15:3; Prov. 10:18; Jer. 6:28walk with slanderers.
5Everyone will #Ps. 36:3, 4; Is. 59:4deceive his neighbor,
And will not speak the truth;
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They weary themselves to commit iniquity.
6Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the Lord.
7Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, #Is. 1:25; Jer. 6:27; Mal. 3:3I will refine them and try them;
#Hos. 11:8For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?
8Their tongue is an arrow shot out;
It speaks #Ps. 12:2deceit;
One speaks #Ps. 55:21peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth,
But in his heart he lies in wait.
9#Is. 1:24; Jer. 5:9, 29Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”
10I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains,
And #Jer. 4:26; Hos. 4:3for 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.
#Jer. 4:25; Hos. 4:3Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled;
They are gone.
11“I will make Jerusalem #Is. 25:2; Jer. 19:3, 8; 26:9a heap of ruins, #Is. 13:22; 34:13a den of jackals.
I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.”
12#Ps. 107:43; Is. 42:23; Hos. 14:9Who 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?
13And the Lord said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have #Jer. 3:25; 7:24not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, 14but they have #Jer. 7:24; 11:8; Rom. 1:21–24walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, #Gal. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:18which their fathers taught them,” 15therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will #Ps. 80:5feed them, this people, #Deut. 29:18; Jer. 8:14; 23:15; Lam. 3:15with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. 16I will #Lev. 26:33; Deut. 28:64; Jer. 15:2–4scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. #Lev. 26:33; Jer. 44:27; Ezek. 5:2And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.”
The People Mourn in Judgment
17Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Consider and call for #2 Chr. 35:25; Job 3:8; Eccl. 12:5; Amos 5:16; Matt. 9:23the mourning women,
That they may come;
And send for skillful wailing women,
That they may come.
18Let them make haste
And take up a wailing for us,
That #Is. 22:4; Jer. 9:1; 14:17our eyes may run with tears,
And our eyelids gush with water.
19For 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 #Lev. 18:28our dwellings.’ ”
20Yet 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.
21For death has come through our windows,
Has entered our palaces,
To kill off #2 Chr. 36:17; Jer. 6:11; 18:21; Ezek. 9:5, 6the children— no longer to be outside!
And the young men— no longer on the streets!
22Speak, “Thus says the Lord:
‘Even the carcasses of men shall fall #Ps. 83:10; Is. 5:25; Jer. 8:1, 2as refuse on the open field,
Like cuttings after the harvester,
And no one shall gather them.’ ”
23Thus says the Lord:
#(Eccl. 9:11; Is. 47:10); Ezek. 28:3–7“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his #Ps. 33:16–18might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
24But #Ps. 20:7; 44:8; Is. 41:16; Jer. 4:2; 1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17; (Gal. 6:14)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.
#Is. 61:8; Mic. 7:18For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
25“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that #(Jer. 4:4; Rom. 2:28, 29)I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised— 26Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the #Jer. 25:23farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are #Lev. 26:41; Jer. 4:4; 6:10; Ezek. 44:7; (Rom. 2:28)uncircumcised in the heart.”
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Jeremiah 9: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 9
9
1I wish my head were like a spring of water.
And I wish my eyes were a fountain of tears!
Then I could cry day and night
for my people who have been killed.
2I wish I had a place in the desert—
a house where travelers spend the night.
Then I could leave my people.
I could go away from them.
This is because they are all unfaithful to God.
They are all turning against him.
Judah’s Failures
3“They use their tongues like a bow.
They shoot lies from their mouths like arrows.
Lies, not truth,
have grown strong in the land.
They go from one evil thing to another.
They do not know who I am,” says the Lord.
4“Watch your friends.
Don’t trust your own brothers.
This is because every brother is a cheater.
And every friend tells lies about you.
5Everyone lies to his friend.
No one speaks the truth.
The people of Judah have taught their tongues to lie.
They become tired from sinning.
6Jeremiah, you live in the middle of evil.
And lies follow lies.
The people have refused to know me,” says the Lord.
7So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
“I will test the people of Judah as a person tests metal in a fire.
I have no other choice.
My people have sinned.
8Their tongues are like sharp arrows.
Their mouths speak lies.
Everyone speaks nicely to his neighbor.
But he is secretly planning to attack him.
9Shouldn’t I punish the people for doing this?” says the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I give them the punishment they deserve?”
10I, Jeremiah, will cry loudly for the mountains.
I will sing a funeral song for the empty fields.
They are empty, and no one passes through.
The mooing of cattle cannot be heard.
The birds have flown away,
and the animals are gone.
11“I, the Lord, will make the city of Jerusalem a heap of ruins.
It will become a home for wild dogs.
I will destroy the cities in the land of Judah
so no one can live there.”
12What man is wise enough to understand these things? Is there someone who has been taught by the Lord who can explain them? Why was the land ruined? Why has it been made like an empty desert where no one goes?
13The Lord answered, “It is because Judah quit following my teachings that I gave them. They have not obeyed me. They have not done what I told them to do. 14Instead, the people of Judah were stubborn. They followed the false god Baal. Their fathers taught them to do this!” 15So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, God of Israel, says: “I will soon make the people of Judah eat bitter food. I will make them drink poisoned water. 16I will scatter them through other nations. They will live in strange nations that they and their ancestors never knew about. I will chase the people of Judah with the sword until they are all killed.”
17This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:
“Now, think about these things!
Call for the women who cry at funerals.
Send for those women who are good at that job.
18Let them come quickly
and cry loudly for us.
Then our eyes will fill with tears.
And streams of water will come out of our eyes.
19The sound of loud crying is heard from Jerusalem:
‘We are truly ruined!
We are truly ashamed!
We must leave our land,
because our houses are in ruins.’”
20Now, women of Judah, listen to the word of the Lord.
Open your ears to hear the words of his mouth.
Teach your daughters how to cry loudly.
Teach one another a funeral song!
21Death has climbed in through our windows.
It has entered our strong cities.
Death has taken away our children who play in the streets.
It has taken the young men who meet in the city squares.
22Say, “This is what the Lord says:
‘The dead bodies of men will lie
in the open field like dung.
They will lie on the ground like grain a farmer has cut.
But there will be no one to gather them.’”
23This is what the Lord says:
“Wise men must not brag about their wisdom.
Strong men must not brag about their strength.
Rich men must not brag about their money.
24But if someone wants to brag, let him brag about this:
Let him brag that he understands and knows me.
Let him brag that I am the Lord.
Let him brag that I am kind and fair.
Let him brag that I do things that are right on earth.
This kind of bragging pleases me,” says the Lord.
25The Lord says, “The time is coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh. 26That is the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon and Moab. I will also punish the desert people who cut their hair short. The men in all those countries have not given themselves to serving me. And the men of Israel do not give themselves to serving me.”
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.