Oh, that I had in the desert(A)
    a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
    and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,(B)
    a crowd of unfaithful(C) people.

“They make ready their tongue
    like a bow, to shoot lies;(D)
it is not by truth
    that they triumph[a] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
    they do not acknowledge(E) me,”
declares the Lord.
“Beware of your friends;(F)
    do not trust anyone in your clan.(G)
For every one of them is a deceiver,[b](H)
    and every friend a slanderer.(I)
Friend deceives friend,(J)
    and no one speaks the truth.(K)
They have taught their tongues to lie;(L)
    they weary themselves with sinning.
You[c] live in the midst of deception;(M)
    in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
  2. Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
  3. Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)

10 “When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’(A) 11 then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped(B) them. They forsook me and did not keep my law.(C) 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors.(D) See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts(E) instead of obeying me.

Read full chapter

Bible Gateway Recommends