CHAPTER 9
Oh, that
my head
were a spring of water,
and my eyes
a fountain
of tears,
I would weep
day
and night
over the slain
daughter
of my people.
If only
I had a traveler’s
lodge
in the wilderness,
I would abandon
my people
and depart
from them,
for
they are all
adulterers,
a crowd
of faithless people.
“They bend
their tongue
like their bows;
lies
instead of
truth
prevail
in the land,
for
they proceed
from evil
to
evil,
and they do not
take Me into account,”
declares
the LORD.
“Let everyone
guard
against
his neighbor;
do not
trust
any
brother,
for
every
brother
deals
craftily,
and every
friend
spreads
slander.
Each one
betrays
his friend;
no
one tells
the truth.
They have taught
their tongues
to lie;
they wear themselves out
committing iniquity.
Therefore,
this is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says:
“Behold,
I will refine
and test them,
for
what
else can I do
because of
the daughter
of My people?
Their tongues
are deadly
arrows;
they speak
deception.
With his mouth
a man speaks
peace
to
his neighbor,
but in his heart
he sets
a trap for him.
Should I not
punish them
for
these things?
declares
the LORD.
Should I not
avenge
Myself
on
such a nation
as this?”
I will take up
a weeping
and wailing
for
the mountains,
a dirge
over
the wilderness
pasture,
for
they have been scorched
so no
one
passes through,
and the lowing
of cattle
is not
heard.
Both the birds
of the air
and
the beasts
have fled;
they have gone away.
“And I will make
Jerusalem
a heap of rubble,
a haunt
for jackals;
and I will make
the cities
of Judah
a desolation,
without
inhabitant.”
Who
is the man
wise
enough to understand
this?
To whom
has the mouth
of the LORD
spoken,
that he may explain it?
Why
is the land
destroyed
and scorched
like a desert,
so no
one can pass through it?
And the LORD
answered,
“It is because
they have forsaken
My law
that
I set
before them;
they have not
walked
in it
or
obeyed
My voice.
Instead, they have followed
the stubbornness
of their hearts
and gone after
the Baals,
as
their fathers
taught them.”
Therefore,
this is what
the LORD
of Hosts,
the God
of Israel,
says:
“Behold,
I will feed
this
people
wormwood
and give them poisoned
water
to drink.
I will scatter
them among the nations
that
neither
they
nor their fathers
have known,
and I will send
a sword
after
them until
I have finished them off.”
This is what
the LORD
of Hosts
says:
“Take note,
and summon
the wailing women;
send
for
the most skillful among them.
Let them come quickly
and take up
a lament
over us,
that our eyes
may overflow
with tears,
and our eyelids
may stream
with waters.
For
the sound
of wailing
is heard
from Zion:
‘How
devastated we are!
How great
is our shame,
for
we have abandoned
the land
because
our dwellings
have been torn down.’”
Now,
O women,
hear
the word
of the LORD.
Open
your ears
to the word
of His mouth.
Teach
your daughters
to wail,
and one
another
to lament.
For
death
has climbed in
through our windows;
it has entered
our fortresses,
to cut off
the children
from the streets,
the young men
from the town squares.
Declare that
this is what
the LORD
says:
“The corpses
of men
will fall
like dung
upon
the open
field,
like newly cut grain
behind
the reaper,
with no
one to gather it.”
This is what
the LORD
says:
“Let not
the wise man
boast
in his wisdom,
nor
the strong man
in his strength,
nor
the wealthy man
in his riches.
But
let him who boasts
boast
in this,
that he understands
and knows
Me,
that
I
am the LORD,
who exercises
loving devotion,
justice
and righteousness
on the earth—
for
I delight
in these things,”
declares
the LORD.
“Behold,
the days
are coming,”
declares
the LORD,
“when I will punish
all who are
circumcised
yet uncircumcised:
Egypt,
Judah,
Edom,
Ammon,
Moab,
and all
the inhabitants
of the desert
who clip the hair
of their temples.
All
these nations
are really uncircumcised,
and even the whole
house
of Israel
is uncircumcised
in heart.”