Jeremiah 9
9
1Oh 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! 2Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging-place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. 3And they bend their tongue, as it were their bow, for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith Jehovah. 4Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders. 5And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity. 6Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah.
7Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how else should I do, because of the daughter of my people? 8Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait for him. 9Shall I not visit them for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
10For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none passeth through; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the birds of the heavens and the beasts are fled, they are gone. 11And I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.
12Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken, that he may declare it? wherefore is the land perished and burned up like a wilderness, so that none passeth through? 13And Jehovah saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein, 14but have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baalim, which their fathers taught them; 15therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. 16I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.
17Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skilful women, that they may come: 18and 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. 19For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we ruined! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings. 20Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation. 21For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. 22Speak, Thus saith Jehovah, The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman; and none shall gather them.
23Thus saith Jehovah, 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; 24but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he hath understanding, and knoweth me, that I am Jehovah who exerciseth lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah.
25Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision: 26Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.
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Jeremiah 9: ASV
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Jeremiah 9
9
1If my head were a spring of water,
my eyes a fountain of tears,
I would weep day and night # Ps 42:3; Jr 13:17; Lm 2:11; Lk 19:41
over the slain of my dear # Lit slain among the daughter of my people.
2# Jr 9:1 in HbIf only I had a traveler’s lodging place
in the wilderness, # 1Kg 19:9-10
I would abandon my people
and depart from them,
for they are all adulterers, # Jr 23:10; Hs 7:4; Mal 3:5
a solemn assembly of treacherous people. # Is 24:16; 33:1; Jr 12:1
3They 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. # Jr 4:22
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Imminent Ruin and Exile
4Everyone has to be on guard against his friend.
Don’t trust any brother,
for every brother will certainly deceive, # Gn 27:36
and every friend spread slander. # Jr 6:28
5Each one betrays his friend; # Gn 31:7
no one tells the truth.
They have taught their tongues to speak lies;
they wear themselves out doing wrong.
6You live in a world of deception. # LXX reads Oppression on oppression, deceit on deceit # Gn 27:35-36; 34:13
In their deception they refuse to know Me. # Rm 1:17
This is the Lord’s declaration.
7Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says:
I am about to refine them and test them, # Is 1:25; Jr 6:27
for what else can I do
because of My dear # Lit of the daughter of My people? # LXX, Tg read because of their evils
8Their tongues are deadly arrows —
they speak deception. # Ps 28:3
With his mouth
a man speaks peaceably with his friend,
but inwardly he sets up an ambush.
9Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself # Jr 5:9,29
on such a nation as this?
10I 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, # Jr 4:25; 12:4
everything has fled — they have gone away.
11I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, # 2Kg 19:25; Is 25:2
a jackals’ den. # Jr 10:22; 49:33; 51:37
I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
an uninhabited place.
12Who is the man wise enough to understand this? # Ps 107:43; Ec 8:1; Hs 14:9 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?
13The Lord said, “It is because they abandoned My instruction # 2Ch 12:1 that I set in front of them and did not obey My voice or walk according to it. 14Instead, they followed the stubbornness of their hearts # Dt 29:19; Ps 81:12 and followed after the Baals as their fathers taught them.” # Jr 2:8,23 15Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to feed this people wormwood # Dt 29:18; Jr 23:15; Lm 3:19 and give them poisonous water to drink. # Jr 8:14; 23:15 16I will scatter them among the nations # Lv 26:33; Dt 4:27; 28:64 that they and their fathers have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”
Mourning over Judah
17This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Consider, and summon the women who mourn; # Ec 12:5; Am 5:16
send for the skillful women.
18Let them come quickly to raise a lament over us
so that our eyes may overflow with tears,
our eyelids soaked with weeping.
19For a sound of lamentation is heard from Zion:
How devastated we are.
We are greatly ashamed, # Jr 2:26; 6:15; 8:12
for we have abandoned the land;
our dwellings have been torn down.
20Now hear the word of the Lord, you women.
Pay attention to # Lit Your ears must receive the word of His mouth.
Teach your daughters a lament
and one another a dirge,
21for Death # Jb 18:13; 28:22; Ps 49:14 has climbed through our windows;
it has entered our fortresses,
cutting off children from the streets,
young men from the squares.
22Speak as follows:
This is what the Lord says:
Human corpses will fall
like manure on the surface of the field, # 2Kg 9:30,32,37
like newly cut grain # Am 2:13; Mc 4:12; Zch 12:6 after the reaper
with no one to gather it.
Boast in the Lord
23This 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.
24But the one who boasts should boast in this,
that he understands and knows Me # Ps 34:2; 64:10; 105:3; 1Co 1:31; 2Co 10:17 —
that I am Yahweh, 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: # Jr 4:4; Rm 2:28-29 26Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair on their temples. # Or who live in distant places All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.” # Lv 19:27; Jr 25:23; 49:32; Ezk 44:7,9
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