Jeremiah 9:1-18
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 9
1 Oh, that my head were waters And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For those slain of the daughter of my people! 2 Oh that I had in the desert A travelers’ lodging place; So that I might leave my people And go away from them! For all of them are adulterers, An assembly of treacherous people. 3'They bend their tongues like their bows; Lies and not truth prevail in the land; For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me,' declares the Lord. 4'Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; Because every brother utterly betrays, And every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. 5Everyone deceives his neighbor And does not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves committing wrongdoing. 6Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me,' declares the Lord.
8Their tongue is a deadly arrow; It speaks deceit; With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, But inwardly he sets an ambush for him.
9Shall I not punish them for these things?' declares the Lord. 'Shall I not avenge Myself On a nation such as this?
10'I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, And for the pastures of the wilderness a song of mourning, Because they are laid waste so that no one passes through, And the sound of the livestock is not heard; Both the birds of the sky and the animals have fled; they are gone.
11I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, A haunt of jackals; And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.'
12Who is the wise person who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land destroyed, laid waste like the desert, so that no one passes through?
13The Lord said, 'Because they have abandoned My Law which I put before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it,
14but have followed the stubbornness of their heart and the Baals, as their fathers taught them,'
15therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: 'Behold, I will feed this people wormwood; and I will give them poisoned water to drink.
16I will also scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them until I have put an end to them.'
King James Version
Chapter 9
1Oh 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! 2Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. 3And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD. 4Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders. 5And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. 6Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD. 7Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people? 8Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait. 9Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? 10For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone. 11And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
12Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
13And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
14But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
15Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
16I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
17Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come:
18And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
Christian Standard Bible
3They bent their tongues like their bows; lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land, for they proceed from one evil to another, and they do not take me into account. This is the Lord's declaration.
4Everyone has to be on guard against his friend. Don't trust any brother, for every brother will certainly deceive, and every friend spread slander.
5Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to speak lies; they wear themselves out doing wrong.
7Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies says: I am about to refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of my dear people?
8Their tongues are deadly arrows -- they speak deception. With his mouth one speaks peaceably with his friend, but inwardly he sets up an ambush.
9Should I not punish them for these things? This is the Lord's declaration. Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?
10I will raise weeping and a lament over the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness grazing land, for they have been so scorched that no one passes through. The sound of cattle is no longer heard. From the birds of the sky to the animals, everything has fled--they have gone away.
11I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a jackals' den. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, an uninhabited place.
13The Lord said, "It is because they abandoned my instruction, which I set before them, and did not obey my voice or walk according to it.
14Instead, they followed the stubbornness of their hearts and followed the Baals as their ancestors taught them."
15Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: "I am about to feed this people wormwood and give them poisonous water to drink.
16I will scatter them among the nations that they and their ancestors have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off."
New Living Translation
Chapter 9
1 If only my head were a pool of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered. 2 Oh, that I could go away and forget my people and live in a travelers’ shack in the desert. For they are all adulterers — a pack of treacherous liars.
4'Beware of your neighbor! Don’t even trust your brother! For brother takes advantage of brother, and friend slanders friend.
5They all fool and defraud each other; no one tells the truth. With practiced tongues they tell lies; they wear themselves out with all their sinning.
6They pile lie upon lie and utterly refuse to acknowledge me,' says the Lord.
7Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: 'See, I will melt them down in a crucible and test them like metal. What else can I do with my people?
8For their tongues shoot lies like poisoned arrows. They speak friendly words to their neighbors while scheming in their heart to kill them.
9Should I not punish them for this?' says the Lord. 'Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?'
13The Lord replies, 'This has happened because my people have abandoned my instructions; they have refused to obey what I said.
14Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them.
15So now, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink.
16I will scatter them around the world, in places they and their ancestors never heard of, and even there I will chase them with the sword until I have destroyed them completely.'
English Standard Version
Chapter 9
1Oh 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! 2Oh that I had in the desert a travelers’ lodging place, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, a company of treacherous men. 3They 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. 4Let 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. 5Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity. 6Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit, they refuse to know me, declares the LORD. 7Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do, because of my people? 8Their 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. 9Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this? 10“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. 11I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair of jackals, and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.” 12Who 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? 13And 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, 14but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. 15Therefore 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. 16I 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.”New International Version
2Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people.
3They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me,' declares the LORD.
4Beware of your friends; do not trust anyone in your clan. For every one of them is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer.
5Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning.
6You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,' declares the LORD.
7Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says: 'See, I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people?
8Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully. With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors, but in their hearts they set traps for them.
10I will weep and wail for the mountains and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands. They are desolate and untraveled, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. The birds have all fled and the animals are gone.
11I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.'
13The LORD said, 'It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law.
14Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.'
15Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water.
16I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.'
New King James Version
Chapter 9
1Oh, 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! 2Oh, that I had in the wilderness A lodging place for travelers; That I might leave my people, And go from them! For they are all adulterers, An assembly of treacherous men. 3“And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies. They are not valiant for the truth on the earth. For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me,” says the Lord. 4“Everyone take heed to his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; For every brother will utterly supplant, And every neighbor will walk with slanderers. 5Everyone will deceive his neighbor, And will not speak the truth; They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves to commit iniquity. 6Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the Lord.
7Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them and try them; For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?
8Their tongue is an arrow shot out; It speaks deceit; One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, But in his heart he lies in wait.
9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord. “Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”
10I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, And for the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation, Because they are burned up, So that no one can pass through; Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle. Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled; They are gone.
11“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.”
13And the Lord said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it,
14but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,”
15therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
16I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.”
