Jeremiah 9

1Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

1I wish my head were a reservoir of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, so I could cry day and night for my people who have been killed!

2Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging-place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.

2I wish I had a traveler’s lodge in the desert so I could get away from my people and leave them! They are all unfaithful to God, a crowd of traitors.

3And they bend their tongue, as it were their bow, for falsehood; and they are grown strong in the land, but not for truth: for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith Jehovah.

3'They bend their tongues like bows to shoot lies,' says the LORD. 'They have become powerful in the land, but not for the sake of truth. They go from one sin to another, and they don’t even know who I am.'

4Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother; for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will go about with slanders.

4Be careful of your neighbor! Don’t even trust your own brother, because every brother is a deceiver and every neighbor goes around spreading gossip.

5And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity.

5Everyone cheats his neighbor; no one speaks the truth. They have trained their tongues to lie and wear themselves out doing what is wrong.

6Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah.

6'You live in a place of constant deception,' says the LORD. 'Because of their dishonesty, they refuse to know me.'

7Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how else should I do, because of the daughter of my people?

7Therefore, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: 'Watch, I will melt them down and test them like metal. What else can I do for my people?

8Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth wait for him.

8Their tongue is a deadly arrow that speaks deceit. People speak kindly to their neighbors, but in their hearts they are setting a trap.

9Shall I not visit them for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

9'Shouldn't I punish them for these things?' asks the LORD. 'Shouldn't I get justice against a nation like this?'

10For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none passeth through; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the birds of the heavens and the beasts are fled, they are gone.

10I will weep and wail for the mountains and sing a funeral song for the desert pastures. They are so scorched that no one travels through them; the lowing of cattle is no longer heard. Even the birds and the wild animals have fled.

11And I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.

11'I will turn Jerusalem into a pile of ruins, a home for jackals. I will make the towns of Judah a wasteland where no one lives.'

12Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken, that he may declare it? wherefore is the land perished and burned up like a wilderness, so that none passeth through?

12Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has the LORD spoken to so they can explain it? Why is the land ruined and scorched like a desert so that no one can cross it?

13And Jehovah saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein,

13The LORD said, 'It is because they have abandoned my law, which I set before them. They have not obeyed me or followed my instructions.'

14but have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baalim, which their fathers taught them;

14Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their own hearts and worshiped the Baal gods, just as their ancestors taught them.

15therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

15Therefore, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: 'Look, I will feed this people bitter food and give them poison to drink.

16I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them.

16I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors ever knew. I will send a sword after them until I have destroyed them all.'

17Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skilful women, that they may come:

17This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: 'Think about it! Call for the professional mourning women to come; send for those who are most skilled.'

18and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.

18Let them come quickly and cry for us until our own eyes fill with tears and our eyelids overflow.

19For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we ruined! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.

19The sound of loud crying is heard from Zion: 'We are completely ruined! We are totally ashamed! We must leave our land because our homes have been torn down.'

20Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation.

20Now, you women, listen to the word of the LORD; open your ears to what he says. Teach your daughters how to mourn, and teach each other songs of grief.

21For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.

21For death has climbed through our windows and entered our palaces. It has taken the children from the streets and the young men from the public squares.

22Speak, Thus saith Jehovah, The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman; and none shall gather them.

22Say this: 'This is what the LORD says: The bodies of the dead will lie like manure on the open field, like stalks of grain left behind by the harvester, with no one to pick them up.'

23Thus saith Jehovah, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches;

23This is what the LORD says: 'The wise should not brag about their wisdom, the strong should not brag about their strength, and the rich should not brag about their wealth.'

24but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he hath understanding, and knoweth me, that I am Jehovah who exerciseth lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah.

24'But if anyone wants to brag, let them brag about this: that they truly understand and know me. They should know that I am the LORD, who acts with kindness, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things,' says the LORD.

25Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision:

25'The time is coming,' says the LORD, 'when I will punish everyone who is circumcised only in the flesh but not in the heart—'

26Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.

26'Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all those who live in the desert and shave their temples. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and even all the people of Israel have uncircumcised hearts.'