Jeremiah 9

^*Oh, that my head were a spring of water

and my eyes a fountain of tears!^w

I would weep^x day and night

for the slain of my people.^y

^*Oh, that I had in the desert^z

a lodging place for travelers,

so that I might leave my people

and go away from them;

for they are all adulterers,^a

a crowd of unfaithful^b people.

“They make ready their tongue

like a bow, to shoot lies;^c

it is not by truth

that they triumph in the land.

They go from one sin to another;

they do not acknowledge^d me,”

declares the Lord.

“Beware of your friends;^e

do not trust any of your people.^f

For every one of them is a deceiver,^g

and every friend a slanderer.^h

Friend deceives friend,ⁱ

and no one speaks the truth.^j

They have taught their tongues to lie;^k

they weary themselves with sinning.

You live in the midst of deception;^l

in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”

declares the Lord.

Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refine^m and testⁿ them,

for what else can I do

because of the sin of my people?

Their tongue^o is a deadly arrow;

it speaks deceitfully.

With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,^p

but in their hearts they set traps^q for them.^r

Should I not punish them for this?”

declares the Lord.

“Should I not avenge^s myself

on such a nation as this?”

I will weep and wail for the mountains

and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.^t

They are desolate and untraveled,

and the lowing of cattle is not heard.

The birds^u have all fled

and the animals are gone.

“I will make Jerusalem a heap^v of ruins,

a haunt of jackals;^w

and I will lay waste the towns of Judah^x

so no one can live there.”^y

Who is wise^z enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?

The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law.^a Instead, they have followed^b the stubbornness of their hearts;^c they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food^d and drink poisoned water.^e I will scatter them among nations^f that neither they nor their ancestors have known,^g and I will pursue them with the sword^h until I have made an end of them.”ⁱ

This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Consider now! Call for the wailing women^j to come;

send for the most skillful of them.

Let them come quickly

and wail over us

till our eyes overflow with tears

and water streams from our eyelids.^k

The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:

‘How ruined^l we are!

How great is our shame!

We must leave our land

because our houses are in ruins.’ ”

Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;

open your ears to the words of his mouth.^m

Teach your daughters how to wail;

teach one another a lament.ⁿ

Death has climbed in through our windows^o

and has entered our fortresses;

it has removed the children from the streets

and the youths^p from the public squares.

Say, “This is what the Lord declares:

“ ‘Dead bodies will lie

like dung^q on the open field,

like cut grain behind the reaper,

with no one to gather them.’ ”

This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom^r

or the strong boast of their strength^s

or the rich boast of their riches,^t

but let those who boast boast^u about this:

that they understand and know^v me,

that I am the Lord,^w who exercises kindness,^x

justice and righteousness^y on earth,

for in these I delight,”

declares the Lord.

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh^z— Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.^a For all these nations are really uncircumcised,^b and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.^c”