Jeremiah 9:3-9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
3 They bend their tongues like bows;
they have grown strong in the land for falsehood and not for truth,
for they proceed from evil to evil,
and they do not know me, says the Lord.(A)
4 Beware of your neighbors,
and put no trust in any of your kin,
for all your kin are supplanters,
and every neighbor goes around like a slanderer.(B)
5 They all deceive their neighbors,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongues to speak lies;
they commit iniquity and are too weary to repent.[a](C)
6 Oppression upon oppression, deceit[b] upon deceit!
They refuse to know me, says the Lord.(D)
7 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
I will now refine and test them,
for what else can I do with the daughter of my people?(E)
8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceit through the mouth.
They all speak friendly words to their neighbors
but inwardly are planning to lay an ambush.(F)
9 Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord,
and shall I not bring retribution
on a nation such as this?(G)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.