Jeremiah 9
9
1I wish my head were a well of water,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
so that I could cry day and night
for my people who have been killed.
2I wish I had a place to stay in the desert
where I could get away from my people.
They are all unfaithful,
a mob of traitors.
3They are always ready to tell lies;
dishonesty instead of truth rules the land.
The LORD says,
“My people do one evil thing after another,
and do not acknowledge me as their God.”
4Everyone must be on guard against his friend,
and no one can trust his brother;
for every brother is as deceitful as Jacob,
and everyone slanders his friends.
5-6They all mislead their friends,
and no one tells the truth;
they have taught their tongues to lie
and will not give up their sinning.
They do one violent thing after another,
and one deceitful act follows another.
The LORD says that his people reject him.
7Because of this the LORD Almighty says,
“I will refine my people like metal
and put them to the test.
My people have done evil —
what else can I do with them?
8Their tongues are like deadly arrows;
they always tell lies.
Everyone speaks friendly words to his neighbour,
but is really setting a trap for him.
9Will I not punish them for these things?
Will I not take revenge on a nation like this?
I, the LORD, have spoken.”
10I said, “I will mourn for the mountains
and weep for the pastures,
because they have dried up,
and no one travels through them.
The sound of livestock is no longer heard;
birds and wild animals have fled and gone.”
11The LORD says, “I will make Jerusalem a pile of ruins,
a place where jackals live;
the cities of Judah will become a desert,
a place where no one lives.”
12I asked, “LORD, why is the land devastated and dry as a desert, so that no one travels through it? Who is wise enough to understand this? To whom have you explained it so that he can tell others?”
13The LORD answered, “This has happened because my people have abandoned the teaching that I gave them. They have not obeyed me or done what I told them. 14Instead, they have been stubborn and have worshipped the idols of Baal as their ancestors taught them to do. 15So then, listen to what I, the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, will do: I will give my people bitter plants to eat and poison to drink. 16I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have heard about, and I will send armies against them until I have completely destroyed them.”
The People of Jerusalem Cry Out for Help
17The LORD Almighty said,
“Think about what is happening!
Call for the mourners to come,
for the women who sing funeral songs.”
18The people said,
“Tell them to hurry and sing a funeral song for us,
until our eyes fill with tears,
and our eyelids are wet from crying.”
19Listen to the sound of crying in Zion,
“We are ruined!
We are completely disgraced!
We must leave our land;
our homes have been torn down.”
20I said,
“Listen to the LORD, you women,
and pay attention to his words.
Teach your daughters how to mourn,
and your friends how to sing a funeral song.
21Death has come in through our windows
and entered our palaces;
it has cut down the children in the streets
and the young men in the market places.
22Dead bodies are scattered everywhere,
like piles of manure on the fields,
like corn cut and left behind by the reapers,
corn that no one gathers.
This is what the LORD has told me to say.”
23The LORD says,
“The wise should not boast of their wisdom,
nor the strong of their strength,
nor the rich of their wealth.
24 #
1 Cor 1.31; 2 Cor 10.17 If anyone wants to boast,
he should boast that he knows and understands me,
because my love is constant,
and I do what is just and right.
These are the things that please me.
I, the LORD, have spoken.”
25-26The LORD says, “The time is coming when I will punish the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and the desert people, who have their hair cut short.#9.25–26 hair cut short: The desert people cut their hair short in honour of their god, a pagan practice forbidden to the Israelites (see Lev 19.27). All these people are circumcised, but have not kept the covenant it symbolizes. None of these people and none of the people of Israel have kept my covenant.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
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.