Jeremiah 9
9
1 #Jeremiah 9:1–26 in the English Bible is 8:23–9:25 in the Hebrew Bible Oh that my head were waters,#Literally “Who he gives my head waters”
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
so that I might weep day and night,
for the slain of the daughter of my people.
2Oh that I had#Literally “Who he gives me” in the desert a place of overnight lodging for travelers,
that I may leave my people and go from them,
for all of them are adulterers,
a band of traitors.
3And they bend their tongue like their bow,
for falsehood and not truth is superior in the land,
for they go forth#Or “proceed” from evil to evil,
and they do not know me,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
A Nation Characterized by Deceit
4“Let everyone be on your guard against his neighbor,
and you must not trust in any brother,
for everyone surely betrays,
and every neighbor goes about with slander.
5And everyone deceives his neighbor,
and they do not speak the truth,
they have taught their tongues#Hebrew “tongue” to speak lies,#Hebrew “lie”
they are tired from going astray.
6Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit,
upon#Or “through” deceit they refuse to know me,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
7Therefore, thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“Look, I am about to refine them,
and I will test them,
for what else can I do,
because of the presence#Literally “faces” of the daughter of my people?
8Their tongue is a murderous arrow,
it speaks deceit.
With his mouth he speaks peace with his neighbor,
but in his inner parts he sets up his ambush.
9Because of these things shall I not punish them?” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“On a nation that is like this shall I not take revenge?
10For the mountains I lift up weeping and wailing,
and for the pastures of the desert a lament,
because they are laid waste so that no man passes through.
And the sounds#Hebrew “sound” of cattle are not heard,
from the birds#Hebrew “bird” of heaven to the animals#Hebrew “animal”
they have fled, they are gone.
11And I will make Jerusalem as heaps of ruins, a lair of jackals,
and the towns of Judah I will make a desolation, without inhabitants.#Literally “from no inhabitant”
12Who is the wise man that can understand this?
And to whom has the mouth of Yahweh spoken, so that he may declare it?
Why is the land destroyed?
It is laid waste like the desert#Or “wilderness” so that no one passes through.”
The Nation is Judged by Yahweh
13And Yahweh said, “Because of their forsaking my law that I set before#Literally “to the face of” them, and they have not obeyed my voice, and have not walked in it, 14but they went after the stubbornness of their heart, and after the Baals, which their ancestors#Or “fathers” taught them.” 15Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Look, I am feeding this people wormwood, and providing drink for them, water of poison, 16and I will scatter them among the nations that they have not known, they and their ancestors,#Or “fathers” and I will send the sword after them until I bring them to an end.”
17Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“Consider closely, and call for the wailing women, so that they come,
and for the skillful women, so that they come.
18And let them hasten,
and let them lift up wailing over us,
so that our eyes may melt with tears,
and our eyelids may flow with water.
19For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion,
‘How we are devastated!
We are very ashamed because we have left the land,
because they have overthrown our dwelling places.’
20For hear, O women, the word of Yahweh,
and let your ear receive the word of his mouth,
and teach your daughters a lamentation,
and each woman her neighbor a lament.
21For death has come into our windows,
it has entered into our fortresses,
to cut off the children#Hebrew “child” from the streets,#Hebrew “street”
the young men from the public squares.
22Speak, ‘thus declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh:
“The dead body of the human will fall
like dung upon the surface of the field,
and like cut grain behind the reaper,
and there is no one who gathers.” ’ ”
The Things in Which Yahweh Delights
23Thus says Yahweh,
“The wise man must not boast in his wisdom,
and the warrior must not boast in his might,
the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.
24But only#Literally “But it” in this must the one who boasts boast,
that he has insight,
and that he knows me,
that I am Yahweh,
showing loyal love, justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for in these things I delight,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
The Way of the Nations
25“Look, days are coming,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “and I will call into account all those who are circumcised in the foreskin: 26Egypt, Judah, and Edom, and the Ammonites,#Literally “sons/children of Ammon” and Moab, and all those who are trimmed to the side, those who live in the desert,#Or “wilderness” for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”
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Jeremiah 9: LEB
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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.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.