Jeremiah 9:9-17
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 9
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
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:
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 9
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
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
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
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
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.”