Jeremiah 9:2–9

²I 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. 

³They use their tongues like bows that shoot arrows. 

Lies and dishonesty rule the land.^b

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. 

⁵Everyone cheats his neighbor. 

No one speaks the truth. 

My people train their tongues to speak lies. 

They wear themselves out doing wrong. 

⁶Oppression follows oppression.^c

Deceit follows deceit. 

They refuse to acknowledge me,” declares the Lord. 

⁷This is what the Lord of Armies says: 

I will now refine them with fire and test them. 

What else can I do for my dear people? 

⁸Their tongues are like deadly arrows. 

They speak deceitfully. 

People speak politely to their neighbors, 

but they think of ways to set traps for them. 

⁹I will punish them for these things, declares the Lord. 

I will punish this nation. 

I still won’t be satisfied.