Jeremiah chapter 9 O that my head were waters, and
my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people. O that I had in
the desert a traveler's lodging place, that I might leave my
people and go away from them, for they are all adulterers,
a company of treacherous men. They bend their tongue like a
bow. Falsehood and not truth has grown
strong in the land, for they proceed from evil to evil, and
they do not know me, declares the Lord. Let everyone beware
of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother
is a deceiver, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. Everyone deceives his neighbor,
and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongue
to speak lies. They weary themselves, committing
iniquity, heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon
deceit. They refuse to know me, declares
the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord
of hosts, Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what
else can I do because of my people? Their tongue is a deadly arrow,
it speaks deceitfully. With his mouth each speaks peace
to his neighbor, but in his heart he plans an ambush for him. Shall
I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord. And shall
I not avenge myself on a nation such as this? I will take up
weeping and wailing for the mountains, and a lamentation for the pastures
of the wilderness, because they are laid waste so that no one
passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard, both
the birds of the air and the beasts have fled and are gone. I will make Jerusalem a heap
of ruins, a lair of jackals. And I will make the cities of
Judah a desolation without inhabitant." 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 and
laid waste like a wilderness so that no one passes through?
And the Lord says, Because they have forsaken my law that I set
before them, and have not obeyed my voice, or walked in accord
with it, but have stubbornly followed their own hearts, and
have gone after the Baals as their fathers taught them. Therefore,
thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I
will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous
water to drink. I will scatter them among the
nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and
I will send the sword after them until I have consumed them. Thus says the Lord of hosts,
Consider, and call for the mourning women to come. Send for the skillful
women to come, Let them make haste and raise a wailing over
us, That our eyes may run down with tears, And our eyelids flow
with water. For a sound of wailing is heard
from Zion, How we are ruined, we are utterly shamed, Because
we have left the land, Because they have cast down our dwellings. Hear, 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. For death has come up into our
windows, it has entered our palaces, cutting off the children from
the streets, and the young men from the squares. speak, thus
declares the Lord. The dead bodies of men shall
fall like dung upon the open field, like sheaves after the
reaper, and none shall gather them. Thus says the Lord. 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. But 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. For in these things I delight,
declares the Lord. Behold, the days are coming,
declares the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised
merely in the flesh. Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons
of Ammon, Moab, and 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 uncircumcised in heart." you