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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
Jeremiah 9
International Standard Version
Jeremiah 9
International Standard Version
The Lord’s Sorrow for His People
9 [a]“Oh, that my head were a spring of water,[b]
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
for then I would cry day and night for those
of my people[c] who have been killed.
2 Oh, that I had a lodging place for travelers in the desert,
so that I could leave my people
and go away from them.
For all of them are adulterers,
a band of traitors.
3 They use their tongues like a bow.
Lies rather than truth fly throughout[d] the land.
They progress from one evil to another,
and they don’t know me,”
declares the Lord.
4 “Beware of your neighbors, and don’t trust
any of your relatives.
For all of your relatives act deceitfully,
and every friend goes around as a slanderer.
5 People deceive their friends,
and they don’t tell the truth.
They have taught their tongues to tell lies.
They exhaust themselves practicing evil.[e]
6 You yourself live in the midst of deception,
and because they are deceived they do not know me,”
declares the Lord.
7 Therefore, this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Look, I’m about to refine and test them.
Because they’re my people, what else can I do?[f]
8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow
that speaks deceit.
With his mouth a person says, ‘Peace,’ to his friend,
but inwardly he sets a trap for him.
9 Should I not punish them for these things?”[g]
asks the Lord,
“and should I not avenge myself on a nation like this?”
10 I’ll weep and mourn for the mountains,
and lament for the desert pastures,
because they are desolate and no one passes through them.
They don’t hear the lowing of the cattle.
Both the birds of the sky and the animals have fled.
They’re gone!
11 “I’ll make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
a refuge for jackals.
I’ll make the towns of Judah desolate,
without inhabitants.”
The Reason for Judgment
12 Who is the wise person who understands this, and to whom has the Lord[h] spoken so that he may declare it? Why is the land destroyed, ruined like the desert, without anyone passing through it? 13 The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my Law that I gave them. They didn’t obey me and didn’t live according to it. 14 Instead, they followed their rebellious hearts and the Baals,[i] as their ancestors taught them.”
15 Therefore, this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Look, I’ll make these people eat wormwood[j] and drink poisoned water. 16 I’ll scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I’ll pursue them with the sword until I’ve finished them off.”
A Call to Lament
17 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Think about what I’m saying![k]
Indeed, call out the professional mourners![l]
Send for the best of them to come.
18 Let them hurry and lament for us.
Let tears run down from our eyes,
and let our eyelids flow with water.
19 For a sound of mourning is heard from Zion:
‘How we’re ruined!
Our shame is very great,
because we have left the land,
because our houses are torn down.’”
20 “Now, you women, hear the message from the Lord;
listen to what he has to say!
Teach your daughters how to mourn,
let every woman teach[m] her friend how to lament.
21 For death comes up through our windows;
it has come into our palaces
to eliminate children from the streets
and young men from the town squares.
22 Speak! ‘This is what the Lord says:
“The corpses of people will fall like dung
on the surface of the field,
and like a row of cut grain behind
the harvester when there is no one to gather it.”’”
True Wisdom and the Coming Judgment
23 This is what the Lord says: “The wise man is not to boast in his wisdom; the strong man is not to boast in his strength; and the rich man is not to boast in his riches. 24 Rather, let the one who boasts, boast in this: that he understands and knows me, for I am the Lord who acts with gracious love, justice, and righteousness in the land. I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
25 “Look, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I’ll punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh:[n] 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, all those who live in the desert and shave the corners of their beard;[o] indeed all the other[p] nations that are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel that is uncircumcised of heart.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 9:1 Because this verse is 8:23 in MT, there is a one verse discrepancy between MT and the ISV throughout this chapter.
- Jeremiah 9:1 Lit. were waters
- Jeremiah 9:1 Lit. for the daughter of my people
- Jeremiah 9:3 Lit. prevail in
- Jeremiah 9:5 Or themselves with iniquity
- Jeremiah 9:7 Lit. because of the daughter of my people
- Jeremiah 9:9 Or punish these people
- Jeremiah 9:12 Lit. the mouth of the Lord
- Jeremiah 9:14 I.e. images of the Canaanite storm god
- Jeremiah 9:15 I.e. a bitter plant
- Jeremiah 9:17 The Heb. lacks about what I’m saying
- Jeremiah 9:17 Lit. lamenting women
- Jeremiah 9:20 The Heb. lacks teach
- Jeremiah 9:25 Lit. circumcised of foreskin
- Jeremiah 9:26 Lit. cut off of side
- Jeremiah 9:26 The Heb. lacks other
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.
International Standard Version (ISV) 
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.