Chapter 9*

1 O that my head were waters,

and my eyes a fountain of tears,

that I might weep day and night

for the slain of the daughter of my people!

2 * O that I had in the desert

a wayfarers’ lodging place,

that I might leave my people

and go away from them!

For they are all adulterers,

a company of treacherous men.

3 They bend their tongue like a bow;

falsehood and not truth has grown strongo in the land;

for they proceed from evil to evil,

and they do not know me, says the Lord.

4 Let every one beware of his neighbor,

and put no trust in any brother;

for every brother is a supplanter,

and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.

5 Every one deceives his neighbor,

and no one speaks the truth;

they have taught their tongue to speak lies;

they commit iniquity and are too weary to repent.p

6 Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,

they refuse to know me, says the Lord.

7 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:

“Behold, I will refine them and test them,

for what else can I do, because of my people?

8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow;

it speaks deceitfully;

with his mouth each speaks peaceably to his neighbor,

but in his heart he plans an ambush for him.

9 Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord;

and shall I not avenge myself

on a nation such as this?

10 “Take upq weeping and wailing for the mountains,

and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness,

because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,

and the lowing of cattle is not heard;

both the birds of the air and the beasts

have fled and are gone.

11 I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,

a lair of jackals;

and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,

without inhabitant.”

12 Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? 13 And the Lord says: “Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, or walked in accord with it, 14 but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with wormwood, and give them poisonous water to drink. 16 I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.”

17 Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;

send for the skilful women to come;

18 let them make haste and raise a wailing over us,

that our eyes may run down with tears,

and our eyelids gush with water.

19 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:

‘How we are ruined!

We are utterly shamed,

because we have left the land,

because they have cast down our dwellings.’ ”

20 Hear, O women, the word of the Lord,

and let your ear receive the word of his mouth;

teach to your daughters a lament,

and each to her neighbor a dirge.

21 For death has come up into our windows,

it has entered our palaces,

cutting off the children from the streets

and the young men from the squares.

22 Speak, “Thus says the Lord:

‘The dead bodies of men shall fall

like dung upon the open field,

like sheaves after the reaper,

and none shall gather them.’ ”

23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; 24 but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the Lord.”

25 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised but yet uncircumcised— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert that cut the corners of their hair; for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”

Chapter 10

1 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord:

“Learn not the way of the nations,

nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens

because the nations are dismayed at them,

3 for the customs of the peoples are false.

A tree from the forest is cut down,

and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.

4 Men deck it with silver and gold;

they fasten it with hammer and nails

so that it cannot move.

5 Their idolsr are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

and they cannot speak;

they have to be carried,

for they cannot walk.

Be not afraid of them,

for they cannot do evil,

neither is it in them to do good.”

6 There is none like thee, O Lord;

thou art great, and thy name is great in might.

7 Who would not fear thee, O King of the nations?

For this is thy due;

for among all the wise ones of the nations

and in all their kingdoms

there is none like thee.

8 They are both stupid and foolish;

the instruction of idols is but wood!

9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,

and gold from Uphaz.

They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;

their clothing is violet and purple;

they are all the work of skilled men.

10 But the Lord is the true God;

he is the living God and the everlasting King.

At his wrath the earth quakes,

and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”*

12 It is he who made the earth by his power,

who established the world by his wisdom,

and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

13 When he utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,

and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightnings for the rain,

and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

14 Every man is stupid and without knowledge;

every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols;

for his images are false,

and there is no breath in them.

15 They are worthless, a work of delusion;

at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

16 Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,

for he is the one who formed all things,

and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

the Lord of hosts is his name.

17 Gather up your bundle from the ground,

O you who dwell under siege!

18 For thus says the Lord:

“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land

at this time,

and I will bring distress on them,

that they may feel it.”

19 Woe is me because of my hurt!

My wound is grievous.

But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,

and I must bear it.”

20 My tent is destroyed,

and all my cords are broken;

my children have gone from me,

and they are not;

there is no one to spread my tent again,

and to set up my curtains.

21 For the shepherds are stupid,

and do not inquire of the Lord;

therefore they have not prospered,

and all their flock is scattered.

22 Hark, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—

a great commotion out of the north country

to make the cities of Judah a desolation,

a lair of jackals.

23 I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself,

that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

24 Correct me, O Lord, but in just measure;

not in thy anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

25 Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not,

and upon the peoples that call not on thy name;

for they have devoured Jacob;

they have devoured him and consumed him,

and have laid waste his habitation.

Chapter 11

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not heed the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may perform the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”

6 And the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but every one walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

9 Again the Lord said to me, “There is revolt among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words; they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing evil upon them which they cannot escape; though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah; and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to burn incense to Baal.

14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done vile deeds? Can vows* and sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The Lord once called you, ‘A green olive tree, fair with goodly fruit’; but with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The Lord of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you, because of the evil which the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by burning incense to Baal.”

18 The Lord made it known to me and I knew;

then thou didst show me their evil deeds.

19 But I was like a gentle lamb

led to the slaughter.

I did not know it was against me

they devised schemes, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,

let us cut him off from the land of the living,

that his name be remembered no more.”

20 But, O Lord of hosts, who judgest righteously,

who triest the heart and the mind,

let me see thy vengeance upon them,

for to thee have I committed my cause.

21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand”— 22 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them; the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.”

Chapter 12

1 Righteous art thou, O Lord,

when I complain to thee;

yet I would plead my case before thee.

Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why do all who are treacherous thrive?

2 Thou plantest them, and they take root;

they grow and bring forth fruit;

thou art near in their mouth

and far from their heart.

3 But thou, O Lord, knowest me;

thou seest me, and triest my mind toward thee.

Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

and set them apart for the day of slaughter.

4 How long will the land mourn,

and the grass of every field wither?

For the wickedness of those who dwell in it

the beasts and the birds are swept away,

because men said, “He will not see our latter end.”

5 “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,

how will you compete with horses?

And if in a safe land you fall down,

how will you do in the jungle of the Jordan?

6 For even your brothers and the house of your father,

even they have dealt treacherously with you;

they are in full cry after you;

believe them not,

though they speak fair words to you.”

7 “I have forsaken my house,

I have abandoned my heritage;

I have given the beloved of my soul

into the hands of her enemies.

8 My heritage has become to me

like a lion in the forest,

she has lifted up her voice against me;

therefore I hate her.

9 Is my heritage to me like a speckled bird of prey?

Are the birds of prey against her round about?

Go, assemble all the wild beasts;

bring them to devour.

10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard,

they have trampled down my portion,

they have made my pleasant portion

a desolate wilderness.

11 They have made it a desolation;

desolate, it mourns to me.

The whole land is made desolate,

but no man lays it to heart.

12 Upon all the bare heights in the desert

destroyers have come;

for the sword of the Lord devours

from one end of the land to the other;

no flesh has peace.

13 They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns,

they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.

They shall be ashamed of theiru harvests

because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”

14 Thus says the Lord concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage which I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, says the Lord.”

Chapter 13

1 Thus said the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen waistcloth, and put it on your loins, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a waistcloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins. 3 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, 4 “Take the waistcloth which you have bought, which is upon your loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 And after many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the waistcloth which I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the waistcloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the waistcloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this waistcloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the waistcloth clings to the loins of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.” ’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?’ 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, says the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.’ ”

15 Hear and give ear; be not proud,

for the Lord has spoken.

16 Give glory to the Lord your God

before he brings darkness,

before your feet stumble

on the twilight mountains,

and while you look for light

he turns it into gloom

and makes it deep darkness.

17 But if you will not listen,

my soul will weep in secret for your pride;

my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,

because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.

18 Say to the king and the queen mother:

“Take a lowly seat,

for your beautiful crown

has come down from your head.”v

19 The cities of the Negeb are shut up,

with none to open them;

all Judah is taken into exile,

wholly taken into exile.

20 “Lift up your eyes and see

those who come from the north.

Where is the flock that was given you,

your beautiful flock?

21 What will you say when they set as head over you

those whom you yourself have taught

to be friends to you?

Will not pangs take hold of you,

like those of a woman in travail?

22 And if you say in your heart,

‘Why have these things come upon me?’

it is for the greatness of your iniquity

that your skirts are lifted up,

and you suffer violence.

23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin

or the leopard his spots?

Then also you can do good

who are accustomed to do evil.

24 I will scatter you* like chaff

driven by the wind from the desert.

25 This is your lot,

the portion I have measured out to you, says the Lord,

because you have forgotten me

and trusted in lies.

26 I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,

and your shame will be seen.

27 I have seen your abominations,

your adulteries and neighings, your lewd harlotries,

on the hills in the field.

Woe to you, O Jerusalem!

How long will it be

before you are made clean?”