2 Oh, that I had in the desert

a lodging place for travelers,

so that I might leave my people

and go away from them;

for they are all adulterers,

a crowd of unfaithful people.

3 “They make ready their tongue

like a bow, to shoot lies;

it is not by truth

that they triumph in the land.

They go from one sin to another;

they do not acknowledge me,”

declares the Lord.

4 “Beware of your friends;

do not trust anyone in your clan.

For every one of them is a deceiver,

and every friend a slanderer.

5 Friend deceives friend,

and no one speaks the truth.

They have taught their tongues to lie;

they weary themselves with sinning.

6 You live in the midst of deception;

in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”

declares the Lord.

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 be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.

3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies:

But they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth;

For they proceed from evil to evil,

And they know not me, saith the Lord.

4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour,

And trust ye not in any brother:

For every brother will utterly supplant,

And every neighbour will walk with slanders.

5 And they will deceive every one his neighbour,

And will not speak the truth:

They have taught their tongue to speak lies,

And weary themselves to commit iniquity.

6 Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit;

Through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord.

2  Oh, that I could go away and forget my people

and live in a travelers’ shack in the desert.

For they are all adulterers—

a pack of treacherous liars.

3 “My people bend their tongues like bows

to shoot out lies.

They refuse to stand up for the truth.

They only go from bad to worse.

They do not know me,”

says the Lord.

4 “Beware of your neighbor!

Don’t even trust your brother!

For brother takes advantage of brother,

and friend slanders friend.

5 They all fool and defraud each other;

no one tells the truth.

With practiced tongues they tell lies;

they wear themselves out with all their sinning.

6 They pile lie upon lie

and utterly refuse to acknowledge me,”

says the Lord.

2 Oh, that I had in the wilderness—

A lodging place for travelers;

That I might leave my people,

And go from them!

For they are all adulterers,

An assembly of treacherous men.

3 “And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies.

They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.

For they proceed from evil to evil,

And they do not know Me,” says the Lord.

4 “Everyone take heed to his neighbor,

And do not trust any brother;

For every brother will utterly supplant,

And every neighbor will walk with slanderers.

5 Everyone will deceive his neighbor,

And will not speak the truth;

They have taught their tongue to speak lies;

They weary themselves to commit iniquity.

6 Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit;

Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the Lord.

2 I wish I had a place in the desert—

a house where travelers spend the night—

so I could leave my people.

I could go away from them,

because they are all unfaithful to God;

they are all turning against him.

3 “They use their tongues like a bow,

shooting lies from their mouths like arrows.

Lies, not truth,

have grown strong in the land.

They go from one evil thing to another.

They do not know who I am,” says the Lord.

4 “Watch out for your friends,

and don’t trust your own relatives,

because every relative is a cheater,

and every friend tells lies about you.

5 Everyone lies to his friend,

and no one speaks the truth.

The people of Judah have taught their tongues to lie.

They have become tired from sinning.

6 Jeremiah, you live in the middle of lies.

With their lies the people refuse to know me,” says the Lord.

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. 3 And they bend their tongue, as it were their bow, for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith Jehovah. 4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders. 5 And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity. 6 Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah.

2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a traveller’s lodging-place, that I might leave my people, and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. 3 And they bend their tongue, their bow of falsehood, and not for fidelity are they valiant in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith Jehovah. 4 Take ye heed every one of his friend, and confide not in any brother; for every brother only supplanteth, and every friend goeth about with slander. 5 And they act deceitfully every one with his neighbour, and speak not the truth: they teach their tongue to speak falsehood, they weary themselves with perverse dealing. 6 Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah.

2 I wish I had a place to stay in the desert. 

I would abandon my people and go away from them. 

They are all adulterers, 

a mob of traitors. 

3 They use their tongues like bows that shoot arrows. 

Lies and dishonesty rule the land.

They go from one evil thing to another, 

and they don’t know me,” declares the Lord. 

4 “Beware of your neighbors. 

Don’t trust your relatives. 

Every relative cheats. 

Every neighbor goes around slandering. 

5 Everyone cheats his neighbor. 

No one speaks the truth. 

My people train their tongues to speak lies. 

They wear themselves out doing wrong. 

6 Oppression follows oppression.

Deceit follows deceit. 

They refuse to acknowledge me,” declares the Lord. 

2 If only I had a traveler’s lodging place

in the wilderness,

I would abandon my people

and depart from them,

for they are all adulterers,

a solemn assembly of treacherous people.

3 They bent their tongues like their bows;

lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land,

for they proceed from one evil to another,

and they do not take Me into account.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

4 Everyone has to be on guard against his friend.

Don’t trust any brother,

for every brother will certainly deceive,

and every friend spread slander.

5 Each one betrays his friend;

no one tells the truth.

They have taught their tongues to speak lies;

they wear themselves out doing wrong.

6 You live in a world of deception.

In their deception they refuse to know Me.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

2 O that I had in the desert

a traveler’s lodging place,

that I might leave my people

and go away from them!

For they are all adulterers,

a band of traitors.

3 They bend their tongues like bows;

they have grown strong in the land for falsehood, and not for truth;

for they proceed from evil to evil,

and they do not know me, says the Lord.

4 Beware of your neighbors,

and put no trust in any of your kin;

for all your kin are supplanters,

and every neighbor goes around like a slanderer.

5 They all deceive their neighbors,

and no one speaks the truth;

they have taught their tongues to speak lies;

they commit iniquity and are too weary to repent.

6 Oppression upon oppression, deceit upon deceit!

They refuse to know me, says the Lord.

2 Oh that I had in the desert a place of overnight lodging for travelers,

that I may leave my people and go from them,

for all of them are adulterers,

a band of traitors.

3 And they bend their tongue like their bow,

for falsehood and not truth is superior in the land,

for they go forth from evil to evil,

and they do not know me,” declares Yahweh.

4 “Let everyone be on your guard against his neighbor,

and you must not trust in any brother,

for everyone surely betrays,

and every neighbor goes about with slander.

5 And everyone deceives his neighbor,

and they do not speak the truth,

they have taught their tongues to speak lies,

they are tired from going astray.

6 Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit,

upon deceit they refuse to know me,” declares Yahweh.

2 I wish I had somewhere to go in the desert

where a traveler could stay!

Then I could leave my people.

I could get away from them.

All of them commit adultery by worshiping other gods.

They aren’t faithful to the Lord.

3 “They get ready to use

their tongues like bows,”

announces the Lord.

“Their mouths shoot out lies like arrows.

They tell lies to gain power in the land.

They go from one sin to another.

They do not pay any attention to me.

4 Be on guard against your friends.

Do not trust the members of your own family.

Every one of them cheats.

Every friend tells lies.

5 One friend cheats another.

No one tells the truth.

They have taught their tongues how to lie.

They wear themselves out sinning.

6 Jeremiah, you live among people who tell lies.

When they lie, they refuse to pay any attention to me,”

announces the Lord.

2 Oh that I had in the desert

A wayfarers’ lodging place;

That I might leave my people

And go from them!

For all of them are adulterers,

An assembly of treacherous men.

3 “They bend their tongue like their bow;

Lies and not truth prevail in the land;

For they proceed from evil to evil,

And they do not know Me,” declares the Lord.

4 “Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor,

And do not trust any brother;

Because every brother deals craftily,

And every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.

5 “Everyone deceives his neighbor

And does not speak the truth,

They have taught their tongue to speak lies;

They weary themselves committing iniquity.

6 “Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit;

Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the Lord.