Jeremias 9
1 Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes? then would I weep for this my people day and night, [even] for the slain of the daughter of my people.
O that my head were waters, And mine eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!
2 Who would give me a most distant lodge in the wilderness, that I might leave my people, and depart from them? for they all commit adultery, an assembly of treacherous men.
O that I had a traveller's lodge in the wilderness, That I might leave my people, and go from them! For they are all adulterers; An assembly of revolters.
3 And they have bent their tongue like a bow: falsehood and not faithfulness has prevailed upon the earth; for they have gone on from evil to evil, and have not known me, says the Lord.
They bend their tongues, like their bows, for lies, And not by truth do they grow mighty in the earth; They proceed from wickedness to wickedness, And have no regard to me, saith Jehovah.
4 Beware you each of his neighbour, and trust you not in your brethren: for every one will surely supplant, and every friend will walk craftily.
Be on your guard each one against his neighbor, And trust ye not in any brother; For every brother will supplant, And every neighbor will slander.
5 Every one will mock his friend; they will not speak truth: their tongue has learnt to speak falsehoods; they have committed iniquity, they ceased not, so as to return.
They deceive every one his neighbor, And do not speak the truth; They have accustomed their tongues to speak lies; They weary themselves in doing iniquity.
6 [There is] usury upon usury, and deceit upon deceit: they would not know me, says the Lord.
Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit, [[O prophet!]] Through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah.
7 Therefore thus says the Lord, Behold, I will try them with fire, and prove them; for I will do [thus] because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold I will melt them and try them; For what else can I do on account of the daughter of my people?
8 Their tongue is a wounding arrow; the words of their mouth are deceitful: [one] speaks peaceably to his neighbour, but in himself retains enmity.
Their tongue is a deadly arrow; Every one of them speaketh treachery; With their mouth they speak peace to their neighbor, But in their heart they lay snares for him.
9 Shall I not visit for these things? says the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a people as this?
Shall I not punish them for these things? saith Jehovah; Shall I not be avenged on such a nation as this?
10 Take up a lamentation for the mountains, and a mournful dirge for the paths of the wilderness, for they are desolate for lack of men; they heard not the sound of life from the birds of the sky, nor the cattle: they were amazed, they are gone.
For the mountains will I lift up a weeping and wailing, And for the pastures of the plains a lamentation, For they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; No more is heard the voice of the cattle; Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled, and are gone.
11 And I will remove the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and make it a dwelling-place of dragons; and I will utterly waste the cities of Juda, so that they shall not be inhabited.
I will make Jerusalem heaps of stones, The dwelling-place of jackals; And I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
12 Who is the wise man, that he may understand this? and he that has the word of the mouth of the Lord [addressed] to him, let him tell you therefore the land has been destroyed, has been ravaged by fire like a desert, so that no one passes through it.
Who is the wise man, that he may understand this, And he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it? Why is it that the land perisheth, That it is burned up like a desert, which none passeth through?
13 And the Lord said to me, Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, and have not listened to my voice;
Jehovah himself hath said: It is because they have forsaken my law, Which I set before them, And have not hearkened to my voice, Nor walked according to it;
14 but went after the lusts of their evil heart, and after the idols which their fathers taught them [to worship]:
But have walked after the obstinacy of their own heart, And after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.
15 therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them with trouble and will cause them to drink water of gall:
Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with wormwood, And give them water of hemlock to drink.
16 and I will scatter them amongst the nations, to them whom neither they nor their fathers knew; and I will send a sword upon them, until I have consumed them with it.
I will also scatter them among nations Which neither they nor their fathers have known, And I will send after them the sword, Till I have made an end of them.
17 Thus says the Lord, Call you the mourning women, and let them come; and send to the wise women, and let them utter their voice;
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, And send to the skilful ones, that they may come;
18 and let them take up a lamentation for you, and let your eyes pour down tears, and your eyelids drop water.
Let them make haste, and lift up a wailing for us, That our eyes may run down with tears, And our eyelids gush forth with waters.
19 For a voice of lamentation has been heard in Sion, How are we become wretched! we are greatly ashamed, for we have forsaken the land, and have abandoned our tabernacles!
Behold, a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: “How are we spoiled! How are we put to shame! We must leave our native land; They have cast down our habitations.”
20 Hear now, you women, the word of God, and let your ears receive the words of his mouth, and teach your daughters lamentation, and [every] woman her neighbour a dirge.
Hear, O ye women, the word of Jehovah! Let your ear receive the word of his mouth! Teach your daughters a lamentation, And every one her companion a mournful dirge!
21 For death has come up through your windows, it has entered into our land, to destroy the infants without, and the young men from the streets.
For death cometh in through our windows, It entereth our palaces; It cutteth off the children from the street, And the young men from the public places.
22 And the carcases of the men shall be for an example on the face of the field of your land, like grass after the mower, and there shall be none to gather [them].
Declare it, saith Jehovah! The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, And as the handful behind the reaper, Which none gathereth up.
23 Thus says the Lord, Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not the strong man boast in his strength, and let not the rich man boast in his wealth;
Thus saith Jehovah: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Nor let the mighty glory in his might, Nor let the rich glory in his riches!
24 but let him that boasts boast in this, the understanding and knowing that I am the Lord that exercise mercy, and judgement, and righteousness, upon the earth; for in these things is my pleasure, says the Lord.
But let him that glorieth glory in this, That he hath regard to me, and knoweth me, That I am Jehovah, who exercise loving-kindness, Justice, and righteousness upon the earth; For in these do I delight, saith Jehovah.
25 Behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will visit upon all the circumcised their uncircumcision;
Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will punish all the circumcised with the uncircumcised,
26 on Egypt, and on Idumea, and on Edom, and on the children of Ammon, and on the children of Moab, and on every one that shaves his face round about, [even] them that dwell in the wilderness; for all the Gentiles are uncircumcised in flesh, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised [in] their hearts.
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, And the sons of Ammon and Moab, And all with shaven cheeks, that dwell in the wilderness. For all the nations are uncircumcised, And all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.
