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Jeremiah 9
New American Standard Bible
Jeremiah 9
New American Standard Bible
Grief over Zion
9 [a](A)Oh, that my head were waters
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For those slain of the (B)daughter of my people!
2 [b](C)Oh that I had in the desert
A travelers’ lodging place;
So that I might leave my people
And go away from them!
For all of them are (D)adulterers,
An assembly of (E)treacherous people.
3 “They (F)bend their tongues like their bows;
Lies and not truth prevail in the land;
For they (G)proceed from evil to evil,
And they (H)do not know Me,” declares the Lord.
4 “Let everyone (I)be on guard against his neighbor,
And (J)do not trust any brother;
Because every (K)brother utterly [c]betrays,
And every neighbor (L)goes about as a slanderer.
5 Everyone (M)deceives his neighbor
And does not speak the truth.
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They (N)weary themselves committing wrongdoing.
6 Your (O)dwelling is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they (P)refuse to know Me,” declares the Lord.
7 Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says:
“Behold, I will refine them and (Q)put them to the test;
For (R)what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?
8 Their (S)tongue is a deadly arrow;
It speaks deceit;
With his mouth one (T)speaks peace to his neighbor,
But inwardly he (U)sets an ambush for him.
9 (V)Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord.
“Shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?
10 “I will take up a weeping and wailing for the (W)mountains,
And for the pastures of the (X)wilderness a song of mourning,
Because they are (Y)laid waste so that no one passes through,
And the sound of the livestock is not heard;
Both the (Z)birds of the sky and the animals have fled; they are gone.
11 I will make Jerusalem a (AA)heap of ruins,
A haunt of (AB)jackals;
And I will make the cities of Judah a (AC)desolation without inhabitant.”
12 Who is the (AD)wise person who may understand this? And who is he to whom (AE)the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? (AF)Why is the land destroyed, laid waste like the desert, so that no one passes through? 13 The Lord said, “Because they have (AG)abandoned My Law which I put before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it, 14 but have (AH)followed the stubbornness of their heart and the (AI)Baals, [d]as their (AJ)fathers taught them,” 15 therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, (AK)I will feed this people wormwood; and I will give them (AL)poisoned water to drink. 16 I will also (AM)scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the (AN)sword after them until I have put an end to them.”
17 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“Consider and call for the (AO)mourning women, that they may come;
And send for the [e](AP)skillful women, that they may come!
18 Have them hurry and take up a wailing for us,
So that our (AQ)eyes may shed tears,
And our eyelids flow with water.
19 For a voice of (AR)wailing is heard from Zion:
‘(AS)How devastated we are!
We are put to great shame,
For we have (AT)abandoned the land
Because they have torn down our homes.’”
20 Now hear the word of the Lord, you (AU)women,
And let your ears receive the word of His mouth;
Teach your daughters wailing,
And have every woman teach her neighbor a song of mourning.
21 For (AV)death has come up through our windows;
It has entered our palaces
To eliminate the (AW)children from the streets,
The young men from the public squares.
22 Speak, “This is what the Lord says:
‘The corpses of people will fall (AX)like dung on the open field,
And like the sheaf after the reaper,
But no one will gather them.’”
23 This is what the Lord says: “(AY)Let no wise man boast of his wisdom, nor let the (AZ)mighty man boast of his might, nor a (BA)rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let the one who boasts (BB)boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who (BC)exercises [f]mercy, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for I (BD)delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
25 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet (BE)uncircumcised— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and (BF)all those inhabiting the desert who trim the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are (BG)uncircumcised of heart.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Heb
- Jeremiah 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Heb
- Jeremiah 9:4 I.e., like Jacob (a play on words)
- Jeremiah 9:14 Lit which
- Jeremiah 9:17 I.e., professional mourners
- Jeremiah 9:24 Or faithfulness
Jeremiah 9
New International Version
Jeremiah 9
New International Version
9 [a]1 Oh, that my head were a spring of water
and my eyes a fountain of tears!(A)
I would weep(B) day and night
for the slain of my people.(C)
2 Oh, that I had in the desert(D)
a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,(E)
a crowd of unfaithful(F) people.
3 “They make ready their tongue
like a bow, to shoot lies;(G)
it is not by truth
that they triumph[b] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
they do not acknowledge(H) me,”
declares the Lord.
4 “Beware of your friends;(I)
do not trust anyone in your clan.(J)
For every one of them is a deceiver,[c](K)
and every friend a slanderer.(L)
5 Friend deceives friend,(M)
and no one speaks the truth.(N)
They have taught their tongues to lie;(O)
they weary themselves with sinning.
6 You[d] live in the midst of deception;(P)
in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.
7 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:
“See, I will refine(Q) and test(R) them,
for what else can I do
because of the sin of my people?
8 Their tongue(S) is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,(T)
but in their hearts they set traps(U) for them.(V)
9 Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(W) myself
on such a nation as this?”
10 I will weep and wail for the mountains
and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.(X)
They are desolate and untraveled,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
The birds(Y) have all fled
and the animals are gone.
11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap(Z) of ruins,
a haunt of jackals;(AA)
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah(AB)
so no one can live there.”(AC)
12 Who is wise(AD) enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?
13 The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law.(AE) 14 Instead, they have followed(AF) the stubbornness of their hearts;(AG) they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” 15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food(AH) and drink poisoned water.(AI) 16 I will scatter them among nations(AJ) that neither they nor their ancestors have known,(AK) and I will pursue them with the sword(AL) until I have made an end of them.”(AM)
17 This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Consider now! Call for the wailing women(AN) to come;
send for the most skillful of them.
18 Let them come quickly
and wail over us
till our eyes overflow with tears
and water streams from our eyelids.(AO)
19 The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
‘How ruined(AP) we are!
How great is our shame!
We must leave our land
because our houses are in ruins.’”
20 Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;
open your ears to the words of his mouth.(AQ)
Teach your daughters how to wail;
teach one another a lament.(AR)
21 Death has climbed in through our windows(AS)
and has entered our fortresses;
it has removed the children from the streets
and the young men(AT) from the public squares.
22 Say, “This is what the Lord declares:
“‘Dead bodies will lie
like dung(AU) on the open field,
like cut grain behind the reaper,
with no one to gather them.’”
23 This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom(AV)
or the strong boast of their strength(AW)
or the rich boast of their riches,(AX)
24 but let the one who boasts boast(AY) about this:
that they have the understanding to know(AZ) me,
that I am the Lord,(BA) who exercises kindness,(BB)
justice and righteousness(BC) on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.
25 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh(BD)— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.[e](BE) For all these nations are really uncircumcised,(BF) and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.(BG)”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-26 is numbered 9:1-25.
- Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
- Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
- Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)
- Jeremiah 9:26 Or wilderness and who clip the hair by their foreheads
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.