< Jeremiah 9 >
1 Oh 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 Oh that I had in the wilderness, a wayfarers’ lodge, That I might leave my people, and go from them, —For they all, are Adulterers, An assemblage of traitors;
3 Who have prepared their tongue as their bow of falsehood, And, not by faithfulness, have they become mighty in the land, —For from wickedness unto wickedness, have they gone forth, But me, have they not known, Declareth Yahweh.
4 Every one, of his neighbour, beware ye, And in no brother, may ye trust, —For, every brother, supplanteth! And every neighbour, as a tale-bearer, goeth about;
5 Yea, every one, of his neighbour, maketh a dupe, And, truth, they do not speak, —They have taught their tongue to speak falsehood, In acting perversely, they have wearied themselves.
6 Thy dwelling, is in the midst of deceit, —Through deceit, have they rejected the knowledge of, me, Declareth Yahweh.
7 Therefore, thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Behold me! melting them, so will I try them, —For how else should I do because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people?
8 A pointed arrow, is their tongue Deceit, hath it spoken, —With his mouth peace unto his neighbour, doth one speak, But within himself, he layeth his ambush.
9 For these things, shall I not bring punishment on them? Demandeth Yahweh, —On a nation such as this, must not my soul avenge herself!
10 Over the mountains, will I take up a weeping and wailing, And over the oases of the desert, a dirge, For they have been burned, so that no man passeth through, Neither have men heard the lowing of cattle, —Both the bird of the heavens and the beast have fled, have gone their way:
11 Thus will I give up Jerusalem To heaps, A habitation for jackals, —And the cities of Judah, will I give up to desolation, without inhabitant.
12 Who, is the man that is wise That he may discern this? And, unto whom, hath the mouth of Yahweh spoken, That he may declare it? For what cause Hath the land perished, Hath it been burned as a wilderness that no man passeth through?
13 Then said Yahweh, —Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, —And have not hearkened to hay voice neither walked therein;
14 But have gone their way, After the stubbornness of their own heart, —And after the Baals which their fathers taught them,
15 Therefore, Thus saith Yahweh of hosts, The God of Israel, Behold me! Feeding them, even this people, with wormwood, —And I will cause them to drink, poisoned water;
16 And will scatter them among the nations, which neither they nor their fathers, have known, —And will send after them the sword, until I have consumed them.
17 Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, Consider ye diligently and call for the wailing women that they may come, —And unto the wise women, send ye, that they may come;
18 Yea let them make haste, and lift up over us a wailing, —That our eyes, may run down, with tears, And, our eyelashes, stream down with water; —
19 Yea, a voice of wailing, hath been heard out of Zion How are we ruined! We have turned very pale For we have left the land, For they have cast down our habitations.
20 For hear O ye women the word of Yahweh, And let your ear take in the word of his mouth, —And teach your daughters a wail, Yea each woman—her neighbour, a dirge: —
21 That death Hath come up through our windows, Hath entered our palaces, —Cutting off The boy from the street, The young men from the broadways.
22 Speak thou, Thus, declareth Yahweh, So shall fall the dead bodies of men, Like dung heaps on the face of the field, —And like swaths after the harvestman, With none to gather.
23 Thus, saith Yahweh Let not, the wise man, glory in his wisdom, Neither let, the mighty man, glory, in his might, —Let not, the rich man, glory in his riches;
24 But, in this, let the glorying one glory—In having intelligence and in knowing me, That, I, am Yahweh, Executing lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth, —That in these things, I delight Declareth Yahweh.
25 Lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, —When I will bring punishment upon every one circumcised, With him that is uncircumcised:
26 Upon Egypt and upon Judah, And upon Edom, and upon the sons of Ammon, And upon Moab, And upon all the clipped beards, The dwellers in the desert, —For, all the nations, are uncircumcised, And, all the house of Israel, are uncircumcised in heart.
