Jeremiah 9
9
1I wish that my eyes
were fountains of tears,
so I could cry day and night
for my people
who were killed.
2I wish I could go into the desert
and find a hiding place
from all who are treacherous
and unfaithful to God.
The Lord Answers Jeremiah
3The Lord replied:
Lies come from the mouths
of my people,
like arrows from a bow.
With each dishonest deed
their power increases,
and not one of them will admit
that I am God.
4Jeremiah, all your friends
and relatives
tell lies about you,
so don't trust them.
5They wear themselves out,
always looking for a new way
to cheat their friends.
6Everyone takes advantage
of everyone else,
and no one will admit
that I am God.
7And so I will purify
the hearts of my people
just as gold is purified
in a furnace.
I have no other choice.
8They say they want peace,
but this lie is deadly,
like an arrow that strikes
when you least expect it.
9Give me one good reason
not to punish them
as they deserve.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
Jeremiah Weeps for His People
10I weep for the pastureland
in the hill country.
It's so barren and scorched
that no one travels there.
No cattle can be found there,
and birds and wild animals
have all disappeared.
11I heard the Lord reply,
“When I am finished,
Jerusalem and the towns of Judah
will be piles of ruins
where only jackals#9.11 jackals: Desert animals related to wolves, but smaller. live.”
Why the Land Was Destroyed
12I said to the Lord, “None of us can understand why the land has become like an uncrossable desert. Won't you explain why?”
13The Lord said:
I destroyed the land because the people disobeyed me and rejected my laws and teachings. 14They were stubborn and worshiped Baal,#9.14 Baal: See the note at 2.23. just as their ancestors did. 15So I, the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, promise them poison to eat and drink.#9.15 poison to eat and drink: Or “bitter disappointment to eat, and tears to drink.” 16I'll scatter them in foreign countries that they and their ancestors have never even heard of. Finally, I will send enemy soldiers to kill every last one of them.
The Women Who Are Paid To Weep
17The Lord All-Powerful said,
“Make arrangements now
for the women who are paid
to weep at funerals,#9.17 women … weep at funerals: Or “the women who weep for Baal”; the god Baal was believed to have died and come back to life, and some women would go to places of worship and weep over the death of Baal.
especially the women
who can cry the loudest.”
18The people answered,
“Let them come quickly
and cry for us,
until our own eyes
are flooded with tears.
19Now those of us on Zion cry,
‘We are ruined!
We can't stand the shame.
Our homes have been destroyed,
and we must leave our land.’
20“We ask you women
to pay attention
to what the Lord says.
We will teach you a funeral song
that you can teach
your daughters and friends:
21‘We were in our fortress,
but death sneaked in
through our windows.
It even struck down
children at play
and our strongest young men.’
22“The Lord has told us
the ground will be covered
with dead bodies,
like ungathered stalks of grain
or manure in a field.”
What the Lord Likes Best
23The Lord says:
Don't brag about your wisdom
or strength or wealth.
24 #
1 Co 1.31; 2 Co 10.17. If you feel you must brag,
then have enough sense
to brag about worshiping me,
the Lord.
What I like best
is showing kindness,
justice, and mercy
to everyone on earth.
25-26Someday I will punish the nations of Egypt, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, and the tribes of the desert.#9.25,26 the tribes of the desert: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. The men of these nations are circumcised, but they don't worship me. And it's the same with you people of Judah. Your bodies are circumcised, but your hearts are unchanged.
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 9: CEVDCI
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 9
9
1 # 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Hebrew #See ch. 13:17 Oh that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
for the slain of #[See ch. 8:21 above]the daughter of my people!
2 # 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Hebrew Oh that I had in the desert
a travelers’ lodging place,
that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
For they are all #ch. 5:7, 8; 23:10; Hos. 7:4 adulterers,
a company of #Isa. 21:2treacherous men.
3 # [Ps. 64:3] They bend their tongue like a bow;
falsehood and not truth has grown strong#9:3 Septuagint; Hebrew and not for truth they have grown strong in the land;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
# [Judg. 2:10; Hos. 4:1] and they do not know me, declares the Lord.
4 # ch. 12:6; Ps. 41:9; Mic. 7:5 Let everyone beware of his neighbor,
and put no trust in any brother,
for every #[Gen. 27:36] brother is a deceiver,
and every neighbor #ch. 6:28; [Lev. 19:16]goes about as a slanderer.
5Everyone deceives his neighbor,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
they weary themselves committing iniquity.
6Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,
# ch. 8:5 they refuse to know me, declares the Lord.
7Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, #Isa. 1:25 I will refine them and #ch. 6:27 test them,
for what else can I do, #[See ch. 8:21 above]because of my people?
8 # [Ps. 57:4] Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
# [Ps. 12:2; 120:3] it speaks deceitfully;
with his mouth #Ps. 28:3 each speaks peace to his neighbor,
but in his heart #Hos. 7:6he plans an ambush for him.
9 # ch. 5:9, 29 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?
10“I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,
and a lamentation for #ch. 12:4; Ps. 65:12 the pastures of the wilderness,
# ver. 12 because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
# ch. 4:25 both the birds of the air and the beasts
have fled and are gone.
11 #
Isa. 25:2 I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
# ch. 10:22; 49:33; 51:37 a lair of jackals,
# ch. 34:22; 44:6 and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
without inhabitant.”
12 # ch. 23:18; Ps. 107:43; Hos. 14:9 Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined #ver. 10and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? 13And the Lord says: #[Ps. 89:30-32]“Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, 14but #See ch. 3:17have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. 15Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: #Deut. 29:18; [Ps. 80:5] Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them #See ch. 8:14poisonous water to drink. 16#Lev. 26:33; Deut. 28:64 I will scatter them among the nations #ch. 15:14 whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will #ch. 14:12; [ch. 49:37; Ezek. 5:2, 12]send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.”
17Thus says the Lord of hosts:
# [2 Chr. 35:25] “Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;
send for the skillful women to come;
18let them make haste #Amos 5:16; [Matt. 9:23; Mark 5:38] and raise a wailing over us,
# ver. 1; ch. 14:17 that our eyes may run down with tears
and our eyelids flow with water.
19For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
# ch. 4:13 ‘How we are ruined!
We are utterly shamed,
because we have left the land,
because they have cast down our dwellings.’”
20Hear, O women, the word of the Lord,
and let your ear receive the word of his mouth;
teach to your daughters a lament,
and each to her neighbor a dirge.
21For death has come up into our windows;
it has entered our palaces,
# ch. 6:11 cutting off the children from the streets
and the young men from the squares.
22Speak: “Thus declares the Lord,
# See ch. 8:2 ‘The dead bodies of men shall fall
like dung upon the open field,
# [Lev. 23:22; Job 5:26] like sheaves after the reaper,
and none shall gather them.’”
23Thus says the Lord: #Prov. 3:5; 21:30; Eccles. 9:11“Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24but #[Ps. 34:2; 1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17] let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. #[Mic. 6:8; 7:18]For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
25“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when #[Isa. 24:21]I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— 26#[ch. 25:19-21] Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and #ch. 25:23; 49:32; [Lev. 19:27] all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are #Lev. 26:41; Deut. 10:16; Ezek. 44:7; Rom. 2:28, 29; [ch. 4:4]uncircumcised in heart.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Sign up to receive news and updates about the ESV: