Jeremiah 9

1 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!

“Who will provide water for my head, and a fount of tears for my eyes? And then I will weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.

2 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;

Who will provide me, in the wilderness, with a lodging place along the road? And then I will forsake my people, and withdraw from them. For they are all adulterers, a union of transgressors.

3 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.

And they have bent their tongue, like a bow, to send forth lies and not the truth. They have been strengthened upon the earth. And they have gone from one evil to another. But they have not known me, says the Lord.

4 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;

Let each one guard himself against his neighbor, and let him have no trust in any brother of his. For every brother will utterly overthrow, and every friend will advance deceitfully.

5 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.

And a man will deride his brother, and they will not speak the truth. For they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they have labored to commit iniquity.

6 Thy dwelling, is in the midst of deceit, —Through deceit, have they rejected the knowledge of, me, Declareth Yahweh.

Your habitation is in the midst of deceit. In their deceitfulness, they have refused to know me, says the Lord.”

7 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?

Because of this, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them, and I will test them. For what else can I do before the face of the daughter of my people?

8 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.

Their tongue is a wounding arrow; it has spoken deceit. With his mouth, he speaks peace with his friend, and then he secretly lies in ambush for him.

9 For these things, shall I not bring punishment on them? Demandeth Yahweh, —On a nation such as this, must not my soul avenge herself!

Shall I not visit upon them concerning these things, says the Lord? Or shall my soul not take vengeance on a nation of this kind?

10 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:

I will take up weeping and lamentation over the mountains, and mourning over the beautiful places in the desert. For they have been scorched because no man is passing through them. And they have not heard the voice of any occupant. From the birds of the air, even to the cattle, they have migrated and withdrawn.

11 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.

And I will make Jerusalem into piles of sand and into a lair for serpents. And I will make the cities of Judah desolate, so much so that there will be no inhabitant.

12 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?

Who is the wise man who understands this, and to whom a word from the mouth of the Lord may be given, so that he may announce this: why the land has perished, and has been scorched like a desert, so much so that no one passes through it?”

13 Then said Yahweh, —Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, —And have not hearkened to hay voice neither walked therein;

And the Lord said: “It is because they have abandoned my law, which I gave to them, and they have not listened to my voice, and they have not walked by it.

14 But have gone their way, After the stubbornness of their own heart, —And after the Baals which their fathers taught them,

And they have gone after the depravity of their own heart, and after Baal, which they learned from their fathers.”

15 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;

For this reason, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed this people with absinthe, and I will give them the water of gall to drink.

16 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.

And I will disperse them among nations, which they and their fathers have not known. And I will send the sword after them, until they are consumed.”

17 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;

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Consider and call upon the women mourners, and let them approach. And send to those women who are wise, and let them hurry.

18 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; —

‘Let them hasten to take up a lamentation over us. Let our eyes shed tears, and our eyelids run with water.’

19 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.

For a voice of lamentation has been heard from Zion: ‘How is it that we have been devastated and greatly confounded? Our tabernacles have been thrown down because we have forsaken the land.’”

20 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: —

“Therefore, listen, O women, to the word of the Lord! And let your ears take up the word of his mouth. And teach your daughters to lament. And let each one teach her neighbor to mourn:

21 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.

‘For death has climbed through our windows. It has entered our houses to perish the little children from the outdoors, the youths from the streets.’”

22 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.

“Speak: Thus says the Lord: And the corpses of men will fall like manure over the face of the countryside, and like hay behind the back of the reaper, and there will be no one to gather it.”

23 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;

Thus says the Lord: “The wise man should not glory in his wisdom, and the strong man should not glory in his strength, and the rich man should not glory in his riches.

24 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.

But he who glories should glory in this: to know me and to know me well. For I am the Lord, who accomplishes mercy and judgment and justice upon the earth. For these things are pleasing to me, says the Lord.

25 Lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, —When I will bring punishment upon every one circumcised, With him that is uncircumcised:

Behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when I will visit upon all who are uncircumcised:

26 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.

upon Egypt, and upon Judah, and upon Edom, and upon the sons of Ammon, and upon Moab, and upon all who have shaved off their hair, living in the desert. For all the nations are uncircumcised in body, but all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”