Jeremiah 9
1 Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a spring of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.
I wish that my head was [like] [MET] a spring of water, and that my eyes were [like] a fountain of tears. Then I would cry night and day for all of my people who have been killed [by our enemies].
2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them. For they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men."
I wish that I could leave my people and forget them, and go and live in a shack/shelter in the desert, because they have not remained faithful [MET] [to Yahweh]; they are a mob of people who deceive others.
3 "They bend their tongue as a bow. Falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me," says YHWH.
[Yahweh replied to me], “They use their tongues [to tell] [MET] lies like people shoot [arrows] with bows. It is because they tell lies that they have become more powerful in this land, and they do not know me.
4 "Everyone be on guard against his neighbor, and do not trust any brother; for every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbor will go about with slanders.
Do not trust your neighbors and [even] your brothers! They all are as deceitful [as Jacob was]. They slander [each other] and tell lies [about each other].
5 Everyone deceives his neighbor, and does not speak the truth. They have taught their tongue to speak lies; they do evil, they do not cease so as to return.
They deceive their friends and never tell the truth. They lie continually and, because of that, they have become skilled liars; they do one oppressive thing after another, and are unable to stop doing it.
6 Oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit. They refuse to know me," says YHWH.
They habitually lie and deceive [each other], and no one will admit/say that I am God.
7 Therefore thus says YHWH of hosts, "Look, I will melt them, and try them; for how should I deal with the wickedness of the daughter of my people?
Therefore [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, say this: Listen carefully to what I say: I will [cause my people to experience great afflictions, ] [like a metalworker puts metal in a hot fire] [MET] to completely burn out the impure bits. Because of all [the evil things] that my people have done, there is absolutely nothing else [RHQ] that I can do.
8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceit: one speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he lies in wait for him.
What they say [MTY] [injures people like] [MET] poisoned arrows do. They say to their neighbors, ‘I hope things will go well for you,’ while they are planning to kill them.
9 Shall I not visit them for these things?" says YHWH; "shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?"
Should I not punish them for doing that [RHQ]? Yes, I should certainly (get revenge on/give what they deserve to) [the people of] a nation that does things like that!”
10 "For the mountains I will take up weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are laid waste so that no one passes through; nor can men hear the voice of the cattle. Both the birds of the sky and the animals have fled, they are gone."
So, I will weep and wail for [the people who live in] the mountains and in the (pastures/places where the livestock eat the grass), because those areas will be desolate, and no one will live there. There will be no cattle there to call to each other, and all the birds and wild animals will have fled [to other places].
11 "I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant."
[Yahweh also says], “I will cause Jerusalem to become a heap of ruins, and [only] jackals/wolves will live there. I will destroy the towns of Judah, with the result that they will be completely deserted; no one will live there.”
12 "Who is the wise man, that may understand this? Who is he to whom the mouth of YHWH has spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land perished and burned up like a wilderness, so that none passes through?"
[I said], “Only people who are very wise [RHQ] can understand these things. Only those who have been taught by Yahweh can [RHQ] explain these things to others. The wise people are [RHQ] the only ones who can explain why the land will be completely ruined with the result that everyone [RHQ] will be afraid to travel through it.”
13 YHWH says, "Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked in it,
Yahweh replied, “[These things will happen] because my people have rejected my laws which I gave to them; they have not obeyed me or my instructions.
14 but have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them;
Instead, they have stubbornly done the things that they wanted to do. They have worshiped the idols that represent the god Baal, which is what their ancestors did.
15 therefore thus says YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Look, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
So now listen to what [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God of the Israelis, say: [What I will do will be like] [MET] giving these people bitter things to eat and poison to drink:
16 I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.'"
I will scatter them to many nations which neither they nor their ancestors have known [anything about]; I will [enable their enemies to] strike them with swords until I have destroyed them.”
17 Thus says YHWH of hosts, "Consider, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skillful women, that they may come:"
This is also what the Commander of the armies of angels says: “Think [about what is happening], [then] summon those women who mourn [when someone has died].
18 "and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
Tell them to come quickly and start to wail, with the result that tears will stream down from your(pl) eyes.
19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, 'How are we ruined. We are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.'"
Listen to [the people of] Jerusalem crying/lamenting, saying, ‘We have been ruined/destroyed! We have experienced a terrible disaster! Now we are very ashamed, because our houses have been destroyed [by our enemies], and we [are being forced to] leave our land.’”
20 "Yet hear the word of YHWH, you women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and everyone her neighbor lamentation.
You women, listen to what Yahweh says [MTY]. Pay attention to his words [DOU]. Teach your daughters to wail. Teach each other how to sing funeral songs,
21 'For death has come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from outside, and the young men from the streets.'
because people will be dying [PRS] in your houses and in palaces. There will be no more children playing in the streets, there will be no more young men [gathering] in the city squares/marketplaces.
22 Speak, 'Thus says YHWH, "The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung on the open field, and as the handful after the harvester; and none shall gather them."'"
There will be corpses scattered across the fields like dung; their dead bodies will lie there like [SIM] grain that has been cut by reapers/farmers, and there will be no one [still alive] to bury them.
23 Thus says YHWH, "Do not let the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, do not let the rich man glory in his riches;
Yahweh says this: “Wise men should not boast about their being wise, strong men should not boast about their being strong; and rich people should not boast about their being rich.
24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am YHWH who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight," says YHWH.
Instead, those who want to boast should boast about their knowing me and about understanding that I am Yahweh, that I am kind and just and righteous, that I faithfully love [people], and that I am delighted with [people who act] that way.
25 "Look, the days come," says YHWH, "that I will punish all those who are circumcised in uncircumcision:
There will be a time when I will punish all those people of Egypt and of the Moab people-group and of the Edom [people-group] and of the Ammon [people-group], all those people who live close to desert areas (OR, who cut their hair short [to please their gods]) far from Judah, all those people who have [changed their bodies by] circumcising them [MET] but who have not [changed] their inner beings. I will punish the people of Judah also, because they have not changed their inner beings, [either].”
26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the people of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, who dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart."
