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!

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.

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;

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.

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.

“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!

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;

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

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.

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.

6 Thy dwelling, is in the midst of deceit, —Through deceit, have they rejected the knowledge of, me, Declareth Yahweh.

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

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?

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?

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.

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,

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!

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?”

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:

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.

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.

“And I make Jerusalem become heaps, A habitation of dragons, And I make the cities of Judah a 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?

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.

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;

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,

14 But have gone their way, After the stubbornness of their own heart, —And after the Baals which their fathers taught them,

And they walk after the stubbornness of their heart, And after the Ba‘alim, That 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;

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,

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.

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.”

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;

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

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

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.

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.”

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: —

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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;

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,

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.

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.

25 Lo! days are coming, Declareth Yahweh, —When I will bring punishment upon every one circumcised, With him that is uncircumcised:

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

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.

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!”