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Jeremiah 9:2-14
New Living Translation
Jeremiah 9:2-14
New Living Translation
2 [a]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.
Judgment for Disobedience
3 “My people bend their tongues like bows
to shoot out lies.
They refuse to stand up for the truth.
They only go from bad to worse.
They do not know me,”
says the Lord.
4 “Beware of your neighbor!
Don’t even trust your brother!
For brother takes advantage of brother,
and friend slanders friend.
5 They 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.
6 They pile lie upon lie
and utterly refuse to acknowledge me,”
says the Lord.
7 Therefore, 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?[b]
8 For their tongues shoot lies like poisoned arrows.
They speak friendly words to their neighbors
while scheming in their heart to kill them.
9 Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.
“Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?”
10 I will weep for the mountains
and wail for the wilderness pastures.
For they are desolate and empty of life;
the lowing of cattle is heard no more;
the birds and wild animals have all fled.
11 “I will make Jerusalem into a heap of ruins,” says the Lord.
“It will be a place haunted by jackals.
The towns of Judah will be ghost towns,
with no one living in them.”
12 Who is wise enough to understand all this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it to others? Why has the land been so ruined that no one dares to travel through it?
13 The Lord replies, “This has happened because my people have abandoned my instructions; they have refused to obey what I said. 14 Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshiped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them.
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Jeremiah 9:2-14
New International Version
Jeremiah 9:2-14
New International Version
2 Oh, that I had in the desert(A)
a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,(B)
a crowd of unfaithful(C) people.
3 “They make ready their tongue
like a bow, to shoot lies;(D)
it is not by truth
that they triumph[a] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
they do not acknowledge(E) me,”
declares the Lord.
4 “Beware of your friends;(F)
do not trust anyone in your clan.(G)
For every one of them is a deceiver,[b](H)
and every friend a slanderer.(I)
5 Friend deceives friend,(J)
and no one speaks the truth.(K)
They have taught their tongues to lie;(L)
they weary themselves with sinning.
6 You[c] live in the midst of deception;(M)
in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.
7 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:
“See, I will refine(N) and test(O) them,
for what else can I do
because of the sin of my people?
8 Their tongue(P) is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,(Q)
but in their hearts they set traps(R) for them.(S)
9 Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(T) 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.(U)
They are desolate and untraveled,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
The birds(V) have all fled
and the animals are gone.
11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap(W) of ruins,
a haunt of jackals;(X)
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah(Y)
so no one can live there.”(Z)
12 Who is wise(AA) enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?
13 The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law.(AB) 14 Instead, they have followed(AC) the stubbornness of their hearts;(AD) they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
- Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
- Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.