Jer 9 | ESV | STEP | Oh 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 !

1 ^{▼▼Ch 8:23 in Hebrew} ^bOh that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
for the slain of ^cthe daughter of my people!
2 ^{▼▼Ch 9:1 in Hebrew} Oh that I had in the desert
a travelers’ lodging place,
that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
For they are all ^eadulterers,
a company of ^ftreacherous men.
3 ^gThey bend their tongue like a bow;
falsehood and not truth has grown strong ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew and not for truth they have grown strong} in the land;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
ⁱand they do not know me, declares the Lord.
4 ^jLet everyone beware of his neighbor,
and put no trust in any brother,
for every ^kbrother is a deceiver,
and every neighbor ^lgoes about as a slanderer.
5 Everyone deceives his neighbor,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
they weary themselves committing iniquity.
6 Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,
^mthey refuse to know me, declares the Lord.
7 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, ⁿI will refine them and ^otest them,
for what else can I do, ^pbecause of my people?
8 ^qTheir tongue is a deadly arrow;
^rit speaks deceitfully;
with his mouth ^seach speaks peace to his neighbor,
but in his heart ^the plans an ambush for him.
9 ^uShall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?
10 “I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,
and a lamentation for ^vthe pastures of the wilderness,
^wbecause they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
^xboth the birds of the air and the beasts
have fled and are gone.
11 ^yI will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
^za lair of jackals,
^aaand I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
without inhabitant.”

12 ^abWho 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 ^acand laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? 13 And the Lord says: ^ad“Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, 14 but ^aehave 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: ^afBehold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them ^agpoisonous water to drink. 16 ^ahI will scatter them among the nations ^aiwhom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will ^ajsend the sword after them, until I have consumed them.”

17 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
^ak“Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;
send for the skillful women to come;
18 let them make haste ^aland raise a wailing over us,
^amthat our eyes may run down with tears
and our eyelids flow with water.
19 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
^an‘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,
^aocutting off the children from the streets
and the young men from the squares.
22 Speak: “Thus declares the Lord,
^ap‘The dead bodies of men shall fall
like dung upon the open field,
^aqlike sheaves after the reaper,
and none shall gather them.’”

23 Thus says the Lord: ^ar“Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but ^aslet him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. ^atFor in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

25 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when ^auI will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— 26 ^avEgypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and ^awall who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are ^axuncircumcised in heart.”