[a] (A)Oh that my head were waters,
    and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
    for the slain of (B)the daughter of my people!
[b] Oh 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 (C)adulterers,
    a company of (D)treacherous men.
(E)They bend their tongue like a bow;
    falsehood and not truth has grown strong[c] in the land;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
    (F)and they do not know me, declares the Lord.

(G)Let everyone beware of his neighbor,
    and put no trust in any brother,
for every (H)brother is a deceiver,
    and every neighbor (I)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,
    (J)they refuse to know me, declares the Lord.

Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, (K)I will refine them and (L)test them,
    for what else can I do, (M)because of my people?
(N)Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
    (O)it speaks deceitfully;
with his mouth (P)each speaks peace to his neighbor,
    but in his heart (Q)he plans an ambush for him.
(R)Shall 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 (S)the pastures of the wilderness,
(T)because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
    and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
(U)both the birds of the air and the beasts
    have fled and are gone.
11 (V)I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
    (W)a lair of jackals,
(X)and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
    without inhabitant.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Hebrew
  2. Jeremiah 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Hebrew
  3. Jeremiah 9:3 Septuagint; Hebrew and not for truth they have grown strong

[a]Oh, that my head were a spring of water
    and my eyes a fountain of tears!(A)
I would weep(B) day and night
    for the slain of my people.(C)
Oh, that I had in the desert(D)
    a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
    and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,(E)
    a crowd of unfaithful(F) people.

“They make ready their tongue
    like a bow, to shoot lies;(G)
it is not by truth
    that they triumph[b] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
    they do not acknowledge(H) me,”
declares the Lord.
“Beware of your friends;(I)
    do not trust anyone in your clan.(J)
For every one of them is a deceiver,[c](K)
    and every friend a slanderer.(L)
Friend deceives friend,(M)
    and no one speaks the truth.(N)
They have taught their tongues to lie;(O)
    they weary themselves with sinning.
You[d] live in the midst of deception;(P)
    in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.

Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refine(Q) and test(R) them,
    for what else can I do
    because of the sin of my people?
Their tongue(S) is a deadly arrow;
    it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,(T)
    but in their hearts they set traps(U) for them.(V)
Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(W) myself
    on such a nation as this?”

10 I will weep and wail for the mountains
    and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.(X)
They are desolate and untraveled,
    and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
The birds(Y) have all fled
    and the animals are gone.

11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap(Z) of ruins,
    a haunt of jackals;(AA)
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah(AB)
    so no one can live there.”(AC)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-26 is numbered 9:1-25.
  2. Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
  3. Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
  4. Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)