Jer 9-10 | 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.”

Jeremiah 10

Idols and the Living God

1 Hear the word that 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 ^ayfor the customs of the peoples are vanity. ^{▼▼Or vapor, or mist}
^baA tree from the forest is cut down
and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
4 ^bbThey decorate it with silver and gold;
^bcthey fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move.
5 Their idols ^{▼▼Hebrew They} are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and ^bethey cannot speak;
^bfthey have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
^bgfor they cannot do evil,
neither is it in them to do good.”
6 ^bhThere is none like you, O Lord;
you are great, and your name is great in might.
7 ^biWho would not fear you, O King of the nations?
For this is your due;
for among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is none like you.
8 ^bjThey are both ^bkstupid and foolish;
the instruction of idols is but wood!
9 ^blBeaten silver is brought from ^bmTarshish,
and gold from ^bnUphaz.
^boThey are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;
their clothing is violet and purple;
^bpthey are all the work of skilled men.
10 ^bqBut the Lord is the true God;
^brhe 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: ^bs“The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth ^btshall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” ^{▼▼This verse is in Aramaic}

12 ^bvIt is he who ^bwmade the earth by his power,
^bxwho established the world by his wisdom,
and ^byby his understanding stretched out the heavens.
13 ^bzWhen he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
^caand he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
^cbHe makes lightning ^ccfor the rain,
^cdand he brings forth the wind ^cefrom his storehouses.
14 ^cfEvery man is stupid and without knowledge;
^cgevery goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
^chand 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 ^cithe portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
^cjand Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
^ckthe Lord of hosts is his name.
17 ^clGather up your bundle from the ground,
O you who dwell under siege!
18 For thus says the Lord:
^cm“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
at this time,
^cnand I will bring distress on them,
that they may feel it.”
19 Woe is me because of my hurt!
^coMy wound is grievous.
But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,
and I must bear it.”
20 ^cpMy tent is destroyed,
and all my cords are broken;
my children have gone from me,
^cqand they are not;
there is no one to spread my tent again
and ^crto set up my curtains.
21 ^csFor the shepherds ^ctare stupid
and do not inquire of the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
^cuand all their flock is scattered.
22 A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—
^cva great commotion out of the north country
to make ^cwthe cities of Judah a desolation,
^cxa lair of jackals.
23 ^cyI 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 ^czCorrect me, O Lord, but in justice;
not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
25 ^daPour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,
and on the peoples that call not on your name,
^dbfor they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him and consumed him,
and have laid waste his habitation.