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They are always ready to tell lies;
    dishonesty instead of truth rules the land.

The Lord says,

“My people do one evil thing after another
    and do not acknowledge me as their God.”

Everyone must be on guard against their friends,
    and no one can trust their relatives;
for all relatives are as deceitful as Jacob,
    and everyone slanders their friends.
5-6 They all mislead their friends,
    and no one tells the truth;
they have taught their tongues to lie
    and will not give up their sinning.
They do one violent thing after another,
    and one deceitful act follows another.

The Lord says that his people reject him.

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

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
  2. Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
  3. Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)