Jeremiah 9
1 How I wish my head was a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! Then I would weep day and night over all my people who have been killed.
Oh that my head were waters, And mine eyes a fountain of tears, —That I might weep day and night, For the slain of the daughter of my people!
2 I wish I had a temporary shelter in the desert—I would give up on my people and leave them, because they're all adulterers, a bunch of traitors!
Oh that I had in the wilderness, a wayfarers’ lodge, That I might leave my people, and go from them, —For they all, are Adulterers, An assemblage of traitors;
3 Their words are like arrows shot from a bow. Lies win out over the truth throughout the country. They go from one evil thing to the next, forgetting all about me, declares the Lord.
Who have prepared their tongue as their bow of falsehood, And, not by faithfulness, have they become mighty in the land, —For from wickedness unto wickedness, have they gone forth, But me, have they not known, Declareth Yahweh.
4 Everyone, watch out for your friends! Don't even trust your brother! Every brother is deceitful, and every friend slanders other people.
Every one, of his neighbour, beware ye, And in no brother, may ye trust, —For, every brother, supplanteth! And every neighbour, as a tale-bearer, goeth about;
5 Everyone betrays their friends; no one tells the truth. They've made themselves into expert liars; they tire themselves out doing wrong.
Yea, every one, of his neighbour, maketh a dupe, And, truth, they do not speak, —They have taught their tongue to speak falsehood, In acting perversely, they have wearied themselves.
6 Everyone exploits each other, and in all their lies they don't want to know me, declares the Lord.
Thy dwelling, is in the midst of deceit, —Through deceit, have they rejected the knowledge of, me, Declareth Yahweh.
7 So this is what the Lord Almighty says: Look, I'm going to test them and purify them like metal in a furnace. What else can I do because of what my people have done?
Therefore, thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Behold me! melting them, so will I try them, —For how else should I do because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people?
8 Their words are arrows that kill; they always tell lies. They're nice to their friends on the outside while plotting against them inside.
A pointed arrow, is their tongue Deceit, hath it spoken, —With his mouth peace unto his neighbour, doth one speak, But within himself, he layeth his ambush.
9 Shouldn't I punish them for all this? declares the Lord. Shouldn't I retaliate for what this nation has done?
For these things, shall I not bring punishment on them? Demandeth Yahweh, —On a nation such as this, must not my soul avenge herself!
10 I will weep and wail for the mountains, I will sing a funeral song over the pastures in the countryside, because they have been so badly burned that no one can pass through, and there are no cattle to make any noise. The birds have flown and the wild animals have run away.
Over the mountains, will I take up a weeping and wailing, And over the oases of the desert, a dirge, For they have been burned, so that no man passeth through, Neither have men heard the lowing of cattle, —Both the bird of the heavens and the beast have fled, have gone their way:
11 I'm going to make Jerusalem into a heap of rubble, a place where jackals live. I will destroy the towns of Judah, leaving them empty.
Thus will I give up Jerusalem To heaps, A habitation for jackals, —And the cities of Judah, will I give up to desolation, without inhabitant.
12 Who is wise enough to understand this? Has the Lord told anyone so they can explain what's happened? Why has the land been destroyed and burned so it's like a desert, so no one can pass through it?
Who, is the man that is wise That he may discern this? And, unto whom, hath the mouth of Yahweh spoken, That he may declare it? For what cause Hath the land perished, Hath it been burned as a wilderness that no man passeth through?
13 The Lord replied, It's because they have given up keeping my laws that I placed before them. They haven't followed them; they haven't done what I told them.
Then said Yahweh, —Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, —And have not hearkened to hay voice neither walked therein;
14 On the contrary, they have followed their own stubborn way of thinking, and went to worship the Baals, just as their forefathers taught them.
But have gone their way, After the stubbornness of their own heart, —And after the Baals which their fathers taught them,
15 So this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Watch out! I will give these people wormwood to eat and poisoned water to drink.
Therefore, Thus saith Yahweh of hosts, The God of Israel, Behold me! Feeding them, even this people, with wormwood, —And I will cause them to drink, poisoned water;
16 I'm about to scatter them among nations unfamiliar to them and their forefathers, and I will send enemies with swords to chase after them until I have wiped them out.
And will scatter them among the nations, which neither they nor their fathers, have known, —And will send after them the sword, until I have consumed them.
17 This is what the Lord Almighty says: Be aware of what's happening! Call for the professional women mourners, ask for the best of them.
Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Consider ye diligently and call for the wailing women that they may come, —And unto the wise women, send ye, that they may come;
18 Have them come as quickly as possible, and sing a funeral song about us, so we can cry our eyes out, so our tears will flow like streams.
Yea let them make haste, and lift up over us a wailing, —That our eyes, may run down, with tears, And, our eyelashes, stream down with water; —
19 The sound of weeping comes from Zion, “We're completely devastated! We're totally ashamed, because we've had to abandon our country, because our houses have been demolished.”
Yea, a voice of wailing, hath been heard out of Zion How are we ruined! We have turned very pale For we have left the land, For they have cast down our habitations.
20 Women, listen to the Lord's message, hear what he has to say. Teach your daughters to mourn and sing songs of sadness.
For hear O ye women the word of Yahweh, And let your ear take in the word of his mouth, —And teach your daughters a wail, Yea each woman—her neighbour, a dirge: —
21 Death has slipped in through our windows; it has come into our fortresses. It has killed the children playing in the streets and the young people gathering in the town squares.
That death Hath come up through our windows, Hath entered our palaces, —Cutting off The boy from the street, The young men from the broadways.
22 Tell everyone this is what the Lord says: Dead bodies will be left where they fall like manure in the fields, lying there like stalks of freshly-cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to collect them.
Speak thou, Thus, declareth Yahweh, So shall fall the dead bodies of men, Like dung heaps on the face of the field, —And like swaths after the harvestman, With none to gather.
23 This is what the Lord says: The wise shouldn't boast about their wisdom. The strong shouldn't boast about their strength. The rich shouldn't boast about their riches.
Thus, saith Yahweh Let not, the wise man, glory in his wisdom, Neither let, the mighty man, glory, in his might, —Let not, the rich man, glory in his riches;
24 Anyone who wants to boast should boast that they really know and understand me, recognizing that I am the Lord who acts with trustworthy love, who shows fairness, and who does what is right everywhere on earth, because these mean the most to me, declares the Lord.
But, in this, let the glorying one glory—In having intelligence and in knowing me, That, I, am Yahweh, Executing lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth, —That in these things, I delight Declareth Yahweh.
25 Watch out, for the time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will punish all who are only physically circumcised.
Lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, —When I will bring punishment upon every one circumcised, With him that is uncircumcised:
26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all the desert people who trim their hair on the sides of their heads—all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the Israelites are spiritually uncircumcised.
Upon Egypt and upon Judah, And upon Edom, and upon the sons of Ammon, And upon Moab, And upon all the clipped beards, The dwellers in the desert, —For, all the nations, are uncircumcised, And, all the house of Israel, are uncircumcised in heart.
