Jeremiah 9

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.
5Everyone deceives his neighbor,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
they weary themselves committing iniquity.
6Heaping 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? 13And 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, 14but ^aehave stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. 15Therefore 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;
18let them make haste ^aland raise a wailing over us,
^amthat our eyes may run down with tears
and our eyelids flow with water.
19For 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.
21For 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.
22Speak: “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.’”
23Thus 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, 24but ^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.”

Jeremiah 13

The Ruined Loincloth

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

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

The Jars Filled with Wine

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 ^blevery jar will be filled with wine?’ 13Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^bmBehold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: ^bnthe kings who sit on David’s throne, ^bothe priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14And I will ^bpdash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.’”

Exile Threatened

15 Hear and give ear; be not proud,
for the Lord has spoken.
16 ^bqGive glory to the Lord your God
^brbefore he brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the twilight mountains,
and ^bswhile you look for light
he turns it into gloom
and makes it ^btdeep darkness.
17But if you will not listen,
^bumy 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 ^bvthe king and ^bwthe queen mother:
“Take a lowly seat,
for ^bxyour beautiful crown
has come down from your head.”
19 ^byThe 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 ^bzand see
those who come from the north.
Where is the flock that was given you,
your beautiful flock?
21What will you say when they set as head over you
those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?
^caWill not pangs take hold of you
like those of a woman in labor?
22And if you say in your heart,
^cb‘Why have these things come upon me?’
it is for the greatness of your iniquity
that ^ccyour skirts are lifted up
and you suffer violence.
23 ^cdCan the Ethiopian change his skin
or ^cethe leopard his spots?
Then also you can do good
who are accustomed to do evil.
24I will scatter you ▼

▼Hebrew them

^cglike chaff
driven by the wind from the desert.
25 ^chThis is your lot,
the portion I have measured out to you, declares the Lord,
because ^ciyou have forgotten me
and trusted in lies.
26 ^cjI myself will lift up your skirts over your face,
and your shame will be seen.
27I have seen ^ckyour abominations,
your adulteries and ^clneighings, your lewd whorings,
^cmon the hills in the field.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
How long will it be ^cnbefore you are made clean?”