Jeremiah 9

1 Who makes my head waters, And my eye a fountain of tears? And I weep by day and by night, For the wounded of the daughter of my people.

If only my head could produce water, and my eyes be a fountain of tears! For I wish to weep day and night for those among the daughter of my people who have been killed.

2 Who gives me in a wilderness A lodging-place for travelers? And I leave my people, and go from them, For all of them [are] adulterers, An assembly of treacherous ones.

If only someone would give me a place for travelers in the wilderness to stay, where I could go to abandon my people. If only I could leave them, since all of them are adulterers, a band of traitors!

3 “And they bend their tongue, Their bow [is] a lie, And they have not been mighty for steadfastness in the land, For they have gone forth from evil to evil, And they have not known Me,” A declaration of YHWH!

Yahweh declares, “They tread on their bows of lies with their tongues, but it is not because of any faithfulness of theirs that they grow strong on the earth. They go from one wicked act to another. They do not know me.”

4 “You each beware of his friend, And do not trust any brother, For every brother utterly supplants, For every friend slanderously walks,

Each of you, be on guard against your neighbor and do not trust in any brother. For every brother is certainly a deceiver, and every neighbor walks in slander.

5 And they each mock at his friend, And they do not speak truth, They taught their tongue to speak falsehood, They have labored to commit iniquity.

Each man mocks his neighbor and does not speak the truth. Their tongues teach deceitful things. They are exhausted from committing iniquity.

6 Your dwelling [is] in the midst of deceit, Through deceit they refused to know Me,” A declaration of YHWH.

Your dwelling is in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me—this is Yahweh's declaration.”

7 Therefore, thus said YHWH of Hosts: “Behold, I am refining them, and have tried them, For how do I deal with the daughter of My people?

Yahweh of hosts says this, “See, I am about to refine them and test them, for what else can I do, because of what my people have done?

8 Their tongue [is] a slaughtering arrow, It has spoken deceit in its mouth, It speaks peace with its neighbor, And in its heart it lays its ambush,

Their tongues are sharpened arrows; they speak unfaithful things. With their mouths they proclaim peace with their neighbors, but with their hearts they lie in wait for them.

9 Do I not see after them for these things?” A declaration of YHWH, “Does My soul not avenge itself against a nation such as this?”

Should I not punish them because of these things—this is Yahweh's declaration— and should I not avenge myself on a nation that is like this?

10 I lift up weeping and wailing for the mountains, And a lamentation for the habitations of the wilderness, For they have been burned up without any passing over, Nor have they heard the voice of livestock, From the bird of the heavens and to the beast—they have fled, They have gone.

I will sing a song of mourning and wailing for the mountains, and a funeral song will be sung for the meadows. For they are burned so no one can pass through them. They will not hear the sound of any cattle. The birds of the skies and the animals have all fled away.

11 “And I make Jerusalem become heaps, A habitation of dragons, And I make the cities of Judah a desolation, Without inhabitant.”

So I will turn Jerusalem into piles of ruins, a hideout for jackals. I will make Judah's cities ruined places without inhabitants.”

12 Who [is] the wise man? And he understands this, And he to whom the mouth of YHWH spoke? And he declares it, For why has the land perished? It has been burned up as a wilderness, Without any passing through.

What man is wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of Yahweh spoken, and he will declare it? Why has the land perished and been destroyed like the wilderness that no one can pass through?

13 And YHWH says: “Because of their forsaking My law that I set before them, And they have not listened to My voice nor walked in it,

Yahweh says, “It is because they have abandoned my law that I set before them, because they do not listen to my voice or walk by it.

14 And they walk after the stubbornness of their heart, And after the Ba‘alim, That their fathers taught them,”

It is because they have walked by their stubborn hearts and have followed the Baals as their fathers taught them to do.

15 Therefore, thus said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: “Behold, I am causing them—this people—to eat wormwood, And I have caused them to drink water of gall,

Therefore Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, says this, 'See, I am about to make this people eat wormwood and drink poisonous water.

16 And I have scattered them among nations Which they did not know, they and their fathers, And have sent the sword after them, Until I have consumed them.”

Then I will scatter them among the nations that they have not known, neither they nor their ancestors. I will send out a sword after them until I have completely destroyed them.'”

17 Thus said YHWH of Hosts: “Consider, and call for mourning women, And they come, And send to the wise women, And they come,

Yahweh of hosts says this, “Think about this: Summon funeral singers; let them come. Send out for women skilled at lamenting; let them come.

18 And they hurry, and lift up a wailing for us. And tears run down our eyes, And waters flow from our eyelids.

Let them hurry and sing a mournful song over us, so our eyes may run with tears and our eyelids flow with water.

19 For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: How we have been spoiled! We have been greatly ashamed, Because we have forsaken the land, Because they have cast down our dwelling places.”

For the sound of wailing is heard in Zion, 'How we are devastated. We are greatly ashamed, for we have abandoned the land since they tore down our houses.'

20 But hear, you women, a word of YHWH, And your ear receives a word of His mouth, And teach your daughters wailing, And each her neighbor lamentation.

So you women, hear Yahweh's word; pay attention to the messages that come from his mouth. Then teach your daughters a mourning song, and each neighbor woman a funeral song.

21 For death has come up into our windows, It has come into our palaces, To cut off the suckling from outside, Young men from the broad places.

For death has come through our windows; it goes into our palaces. It destroys children from outside, and young men in the city squares.

22 Speak thus, “A declaration of YHWH, And the carcass of man has fallen, As dung on the face of the field, And as a handful after the reaper, And there is none gathering.”

Declare this, 'This is Yahweh's declaration—the corpses of men will fall like dung in the fields, and like grain stalks after the reapers, and there will be no one to gather them.'”

23 Thus said YHWH: “Do not let the wise boast himself in his wisdom, Nor let the mighty boast himself in his might, Do not let the rich boast himself in his riches,

Yahweh says this, “Do not let the wise man take pride in his wisdom, or the warrior in his might. Do not let the wealthy man take pride in his riches.

24 But let the boaster boast himself in this, In understanding and knowing Me, For I [am] YHWH, doing kindness, Judgment, and righteousness, in the earth, For I have delighted in these,” A declaration of YHWH.

For if a man takes pride in anything, let it be in this, that he has insight and knows me. For I am Yahweh, who acts with covenant loyalty, justice and righteousness on earth. For it is in these that I take pleasure —this is Yahweh's declaration.”

25 “Behold, days are coming,” A declaration of YHWH, “And I have laid a charge on all circumcised in the foreskin,

“See, days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will punish all the circumcised who are such only in their body.

26 On Egypt, and on Judah, and on Edom, And on the sons of Ammon, and on Moab, And on all cutting the corner [of the beard], Who are dwelling in the wilderness, For all the nations [are] uncircumcised, And all the house of Israel [are] uncircumcised in heart!”

I will punish Egypt and Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all the people who cut the hair on their heads very short. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel has an uncircumcised heart.”