Jeremiah 9
9
A Lament over Zion
1Oh that 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 (a mere shelter) for wayfaring men,
That I might leave my people
And go away from them!
For they are all adulterers [worshiping idols instead of the Lord],
[They are] an assembly of treacherous men [of weak character, men without integrity].
3“They bend their tongue like their bow;
[Their] lies and not truth prevail and grow strong in the land;
For they proceed from evil to evil,
And they do not know and understand and acknowledge Me,” says the Lord.
4“Let everyone beware of his neighbor
And do not trust any brother.
For every brother is a supplanter [like Jacob, a deceiver, ready to grab his brother’s heel],
And every neighbor goes around as a slanderer. [Gen 25:26]
5“Everyone deceives and mocks his neighbor
And does not speak the truth.
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They exhaust themselves with sin and cruelty.
6“Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit [oppression upon oppression and deceit upon deceit];
Through deceit they refuse to know (understand) Me,” says the Lord.
7Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts,
“Behold, I will refine them [through suffering] and test them;
For how else should I deal with the daughter of My people?
8“Their tongue is a murderous arrow;
It speaks deceit;
With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor,
But in his heart he lays traps and waits in ambush for him.
9“Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“Shall I not avenge Myself
On such a nation as this?
10¶“I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains,
And a [funeral] dirge for the pastures of the wilderness,
Because they are burned up and desolated so that no one passes through [them];
Nor can anyone hear the lowing of cattle.
Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they are gone.
11“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
A haunt and dwelling place of jackals;
And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
12Who is the wise man who may understand this [without any doubt]? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, so that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? 13The Lord said, “Because they have #9:13 Lit forsaken.turned away from My law which I set before them, and have not listened to and obeyed My voice nor walked in accordance with it, 14but have walked stubbornly after their [own] heart and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them,” 15therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them bitter and poisonous water to drink. 16I will [also] scatter them among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them.”
17Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“Consider and call for the mourning women to come;
Send for the wailing women to come.
18“Let them hurry and take up a wailing for us,
That our eyes may shed tears
And our eyelids flow with water.
19“For a sound of wailing is heard [coming] from Zion:
‘How we are ruined!
We are greatly perplexed and utterly shamed,
Because we have left the land,
Because they have torn down our dwellings.’ ”
20Now hear the word of the Lord, O you women,
And let your ear hear the word of His mouth;
Teach your daughters a song of mourning,
And each one [teach] her neighbor a dirge.
21For death has come up through our windows;
It has entered our palaces,
Cutting off the children from the streets
And the young men from the town squares.
22Speak, “Thus says the Lord,
‘The dead bodies of men will fall like dung on the open field,
And like sheaves [of grain] behind the reaper,
And no one will gather them.’ ” [Jer 8:2]
23Thus says the Lord, “Let not the one who is wise and skillful boast in his insight; let not the one who is mighty and powerful boast in his strength; let not the one who is rich boast in his [temporal satisfactions and earthly] abundance; 24but let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me [and acknowledges Me and honors Me as God and recognizes without any doubt], that I am the Lord who practices lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight,” says the Lord. [1 Cor 1:31; 2 Cor 10:17]
25“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised [physically] and yet uncircumcised [spiritually]— [Rom 2:25-29] 26#9:26 All these nations are related to one another, except Egypt.Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those who live in the desert who clip off the hair on their temples; for all these nations are uncircumcised (sinful, impure), and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”
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Amplified® Bible
Copyright © 2015 by
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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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