Jeremiah 9
1 Oh, that mine head were full of water and mine eyes a fountaine of teares, that I might weepe day and night for the slayne of the daughter of my people.
If only my head was a stream of waters and my eyes fountains of weeping, so that I might go on weeping day and night for the dead of the daughter of my people!
2 Oh, that I had in the wildernes a cottage of wayfaring men, that I might leaue my people, and go from them: for they be all adulterers and an assembly of rebels,
If only I had in the waste land a night's resting-place for travellers, so that I might go away, far from my people! for they are all untrue, a band of false men.
3 And they bende their tongues like their bowes for lyes: but they haue no courage for the trueth vpon the earth: for they proceede from euill to worse, and they haue not knowen mee, sayth the Lord.
Their tongues are bent like a bow to send out false words: they have become strong in the land, but not for good faith: they go on from evil to evil, and they have no knowledge of me, says the Lord.
4 Let euery one take heede of his neighbour, and trust you not in any brother: for euery brother will vse deceite, and euery friend will deale deceitfully,
Let everyone keep watch on his neighbour, and put no faith in any brother: for every brother will certainly be tricking his brother, and every neighbour will go about saying evil.
5 And euery one wil deceiue his friende, and wil not speake the trueth: for they haue taught their tongues to speake lies, and take great paynes to do wickedly.
Everyone will make sport of his neighbour with deceit, not saying what is true: their tongues have been trained to say false words; they are twisted, hating to come back.
6 Thine habitation is in the middes of deceiuers: because of their deceit they refuse to know me, sayth the Lord.
There is wrong on wrong, deceit on deceit; they have given up the knowledge of me, says the Lord.
7 Therefore thus sayth the Lord of hostes, Behold, I wil melt them, and trie them: for what should I els do for the daughter of my people?
So the Lord of armies has said, See, I will make them soft in the fire and put them to the test; this I will do because of their evil-doing.
8 Their tongue is as an arow shot out, and speaketh deceite: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in his heart hee layeth waite for him.
His tongue is an arrow causing death; the words of his mouth are deceit: he says words of peace to his neighbour, but in his heart he is waiting secretly for him.
9 Shal I not visit them for these things, saith the Lord? or shall not my soule be auenged on such a nation as this?
Am I not to send punishment for these things? says the Lord: will not my soul take payment from such a nation as this?
10 Vpon the mountaines will I take vp a weeping and a lamentation, and vpon the fayre places of the wildernes a mourning, because they are burnt vp: so that none can passe through them, neyther can men heare the voyce of the flocke: both the foule of the aire, and the beast are fled away and gone.
Give yourselves to weeping, crying out in sorrow for the mountains; and for the fields of the waste land send up a song of grief, because they are burned up, so that no one goes through; there is no sound of cattle; the bird of the heavens and the beast are in flight and are gone.
11 And I wil make Ierusalem an heape, and a den of dragons, and I will make the cities of Iudah waste, without an inhabitant.
And I will make Jerusalem a mass of broken stones, the living-place of jackals; and I will make the towns of Judah a waste, with no man living there.
12 Who is wise, to vnderstande this? and to whome the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, euen he shall declare it. Why doth the land perish, and is burnt vp like a wildernesse, that none passeth through?
Who is the wise man able to see this? who is he to whom the word of the Lord has come, so that he may make it clear? why is the land given to destruction and burned up like a waste place, so that no one goes through?
13 And the Lord sayeth, Because they haue forsaken my Lawe, which I set before them, and haue not obeyed my voice, neither walked thereafter,
And the Lord said, Because they have given up my law which I put before them, giving no attention to my voice and not being guided by it;
14 But haue walked after the stubbernesse of their owne heart, and after Baalims, which their fathers taught them,
But they have been walking in the pride of their hearts, going after the Baals, as their fathers gave them teaching.
15 Therefore thus sayth the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feede this people with wormewood, and giue them waters of gall to drinke:
So the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, I will give them, even this people, bitter plants for food and bitter water for drink.
16 I wil scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers haue knowen, and I will send a sworde after them, til I haue consumed them.
And I will send them wandering among the nations, among people strange to them and to their fathers: and I will send the sword after them till I have put an end to them.
17 Thus sayeth the Lord of hostes, Take heede, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, and send for skilfull women that they may come,
This is what the Lord of armies has said: Take thought and send for the weeping women, so that they may come; and send for the wise women, so that they may come:
18 And let them make haste, and let them take vp a lamentation for vs, that our eyes may cast out teares and our eye liddes gush out of water.
Let them quickly make cries of sorrow for us, so that drops may be flowing from our eyes till they are streaming with water.
19 For a lamentable noyse is heard out of Zion, Howe are we destroyed, and vtterly confounded, for we haue forsaken the land, and our dwellings haue cast vs out.
For a sound of weeping goes up from Zion, a cry, How has destruction come on us? we are overcome with shame because we have gone away from our land; he has sent us out from our house.
20 Therefore heare the worde of the Lord, O ye women, and let your eares regard the words of his mouth, and teach your daughters to mourne, and euery one her neighbour to lament.
But even now, give ear to the word of the Lord, O you women; let your ears be open to the word of his mouth, training your daughters to give cries of sorrow, everyone teaching her neighbour a song of grief.
21 For death is come vp into our windowes, and is entred into our palaces, to destroy the children without, and the yong men in the streetes.
For death has come up into our windows, forcing its way into our great houses; cutting off the children in the streets and the young men in the wide places.
22 Speake, thus sayth the Lord, The carkeises of men shall lye, euen as the doung vpon the fielde, and as the handfull after the mower, and none shall gather them.
The bodies of men will be falling like waste on the open fields, and like grain dropped by the grain-cutter, and no one will take them up.
23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisedome, nor the strong man glorie in his strength, neyther the riche man glorie in his riches.
This is the word of the Lord: Let not the wise man take pride in his wisdom, or the strong man in his strength, or the man of wealth in his wealth:
24 But let him that glorieth, glorie in this, that he vnderstandeth, and knoweth me: for I am the Lord, which shewe mercie, iudgement, and righteousnes in the earth: for in these things I delite, sayth the Lord.
But if any man has pride, let it be in this, that he has the wisdom to have knowledge of me, that I am the Lord, working mercy, giving true decisions, and doing righteousness in the earth: for in these things I have delight, says the Lord.
25 Beholde, the dayes come, sayth the Lord, that I wil visite all them, which are circumcised with the vncircumcised:
See, the day is coming, says the Lord, when I will send punishment on all those who have circumcision in the flesh;
26 Egypt and Iudah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all the vtmost corners of them that dwell in the wildernesse: for all these nations are vncircumcised, and al the house of Israel are vncircumcised in the heart.
On Egypt and on Judah and on Edom and on the children of Ammon and on Moab and on all who have the ends of their hair cut, who are living in the waste land: for all these nations and all the people of Israel are without circumcision in their hearts.
