Jeremiah 9:2–9

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.

Judgment for Disobedience

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.

⁵They 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.

⁶They pile lie upon lie

and utterly refuse to acknowledge me,”

says the Lord.

⁷Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:

“See, I will melt them down in a crucible

and test them like metal.

What else can I do with my people?

⁸For their tongues shoot lies like poisoned arrows.

They speak friendly words to their neighbors

while scheming in their heart to kill them.

⁹Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.

“Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?”