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 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.