Jeremiah 9:2–9

²Oh, that I had in the desert^j

a lodging place for travelers,

so that I might leave my people

and go away from them;

for they are all adulterers,^k

a crowd of unfaithful^l people.

³“They make ready their tongue

like a bow, to shoot lies;^m

it is not by truth

that they triumph^b in the land.

They go from one sin to another;

they do not acknowledgeⁿ me,”

declares the Lord.

⁴“Beware of your friends;^o

do not trust anyone in your clan.^p

For every one of them is a deceiver,^cq

and every friend a slanderer.^r

⁵Friend deceives friend,^s

and no one speaks the truth.^t

They have taught their tongues to lie;^u

they weary themselves with sinning.

⁶You^d live in the midst of deception;^v

in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”

declares the Lord.

⁷Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refine^w and test^x them,

for what else can I do

because of the sin of my people?

⁸Their tongue^y is a deadly arrow;

it speaks deceitfully.

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

but in their hearts they set traps^a for them.^b

⁹Should I not punish them for this?”

declares the Lord.

“Should I not avenge^c myself

on such a nation as this?”