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Jeremiah 9
Legacy Standard Bible
Jeremiah 9
Legacy Standard Bible
9 [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 the (B)daughter of my people!
2 [b](C)Oh that I had in the desert
A travelers’ lodging place,
That I might leave my people
And go from them!
For all of them are (D)adulterers,
A solemn assembly of (E)treacherous men.
3 “They (F)bend their tongue like their bow;
Lies and unfaithfulness prevail in the land,
For they (G)go onward from evil to evil,
And they (H)do not know Me,” declares Yahweh.
4 “Let everyone (I)beware of his neighbor,
And (J)do not trust any brother,
Because every (K)brother [c]surely supplants,
And every neighbor (L)goes about as a slanderer.
5 Everyone (M)deceives his neighbor
And does not speak the truth;
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They (N)weary themselves committing iniquity.
6 Your (O)habitation is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they (P)refuse to know Me,” declares Yahweh.
7 Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“Behold, I will refine them and (Q)test them;
For (R)what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?
8 Their (S)tongue is a slaughtering arrow;
It speaks deceit;
With his mouth one (T)speaks peace to his neighbor,
But inwardly he (U)sets an ambush for him.
9 (V)Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares Yahweh.
“On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?
10 “For the (W)mountains I will take up a weeping and wailing,
And for the pastures of the (X)wilderness a funeral lamentation,
Because they are (Y)turned into ruin so that no one passes through,
And the lowing of the cattle is not heard;
Both the (Z)birds of the sky and the beasts have fled; they are gone.
11 I will make Jerusalem a (AA)heap of ruins,
A haunt of (AB)jackals;
And I will make the cities of Judah a (AC)desolation, without inhabitant.”
12 Who is the (AD)wise man that may understand this? And who is he to whom (AE)the mouth of Yahweh has spoken, that he may declare it? (AF)Why has the land perished, turned into ruin like a desert, so that no one passes through? 13 Yahweh said, “Because they have (AG)forsaken My law, which I set before them, and have not listened to My voice nor walked according to it, 14 but have (AH)walked after the stubbornness of their heart and after the (AI)Baals, as their (AJ)fathers taught them,” 15 therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “behold, (AK)I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them [d](AL)poisoned water to drink. 16 I will (AM)scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the (AN)sword after them until I have consumed them.”
17 Thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“Carefully consider and call for the (AO)mourning women, that they may come;
And send for the [e](AP)skillful women, that they may come!
18 Let them make haste and take up a wailing for us,
That our (AQ)eyes may shed tears
And our eyelids flow with water.
19 For a voice of (AR)wailing is heard from Zion,
‘(AS)How we are destroyed!
We are put to great shame,
For we have (AT)left the land
Because they have cast down our dwellings.’”
20 Indeed, hear the word of Yahweh, O you (AU)women,
And let your ear receive the word of His mouth;
Teach your daughters wailing,
And everyone her neighbor a funeral lamentation.
21 For (AV)death has come up through our windows;
It has entered our palaces
To cut off the (AW)infants from the streets,
The choice men from the open squares.
22 Speak, “Thus declares Yahweh,
‘The corpses of men will fall (AX)like dung on the open field
And like the sheaf after the reaper,
But no one will gather them.’”
23 Thus says Yahweh, “(AY)Let not a wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not the (AZ)mighty man boast in his might; let not a (BA)rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts (BB)boast in this, that he [f]understands and knows Me, that I am Yahweh who (BC)shows lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I (BD)delight in these things,” declares Yahweh.
25 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet (BE)uncircumcised— 26 Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and (BF)all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are (BG)uncircumcised of heart.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Heb
- Jeremiah 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Heb
- Jeremiah 9:4 Heb sounds like Jacob (a play on words)
- Jeremiah 9:15 Or gall
- Jeremiah 9:17 Lit wise
- Jeremiah 9:24 Lit has insight
Jeremiah 9
New International Version
Jeremiah 9
New International Version
9 [a]1 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)
2 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.
3 “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.
4 “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)
5 Friend deceives friend,(M)
and no one speaks the truth.(N)
They have taught their tongues to lie;(O)
they weary themselves with sinning.
6 You[d] live in the midst of deception;(P)
in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.
7 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?
8 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)
9 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)
12 Who is wise(AD) 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.(AE) 14 Instead, they have followed(AF) the stubbornness of their hearts;(AG) they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” 15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food(AH) and drink poisoned water.(AI) 16 I will scatter them among nations(AJ) that neither they nor their ancestors have known,(AK) and I will pursue them with the sword(AL) until I have made an end of them.”(AM)
17 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Consider now! Call for the wailing women(AN) to come;
send for the most skillful of them.
18 Let them come quickly
and wail over us
till our eyes overflow with tears
and water streams from our eyelids.(AO)
19 The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
‘How ruined(AP) we are!
How great is our shame!
We must leave our land
because our houses are in ruins.’”
20 Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;
open your ears to the words of his mouth.(AQ)
Teach your daughters how to wail;
teach one another a lament.(AR)
21 Death has climbed in through our windows(AS)
and has entered our fortresses;
it has removed the children from the streets
and the young men(AT) from the public squares.
22 Say, “This is what the Lord declares:
“‘Dead bodies will lie
like dung(AU) on the open field,
like cut grain behind the reaper,
with no one to gather them.’”
23 This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom(AV)
or the strong boast of their strength(AW)
or the rich boast of their riches,(AX)
24 but let the one who boasts boast(AY) about this:
that they have the understanding to know(AZ) me,
that I am the Lord,(BA) who exercises kindness,(BB)
justice and righteousness(BC) on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.
25 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh(BD)— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.[e](BE) For all these nations are really uncircumcised,(BF) and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.(BG)”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-26 is numbered 9:1-25.
- 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)
- Jeremiah 9:26 Or wilderness and who clip the hair by their foreheads
Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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