| New International Version | New International Version |
| 1Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people. | 1Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people. |
| 2Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people. | 2Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people. |
| 3"They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me," declares the LORD. | 3"They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me," declares the LORD. |
| 4"Beware of your friends; do not trust anyone in your clan. For every one of them is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. | 4"Beware of your friends; do not trust anyone in your clan. For every one of them is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. |
| 5Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning. | 5Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning. |
| 6You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me," declares the LORD. | 6You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me," declares the LORD. |
| 7Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says: "See, I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people? | 7Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says: "See, I will refine and test them, for what else can I do because of the sin of my people? |
| 8Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully. With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors, but in their hearts they set traps for them. | 8Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully. With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors, but in their hearts they set traps for them. |
| 9Should I not punish them for this?" declares the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?" | 9Should I not punish them for this?" declares the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?" |
| 10I will weep and wail for the mountains and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands. They are desolate and untraveled, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. The birds have all fled and the animals are gone. | 10I will weep and wail for the mountains and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands. They are desolate and untraveled, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. The birds have all fled and the animals are gone. |
| 11"I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there." | 11"I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there." |
| 12Who is wise 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? | 12Who is wise 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? |
| 13The LORD said, "It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. | 13The LORD said, "It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. |
| 14Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them." | 14Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them." |
| 15Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. | 15Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. |
| 16I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them." | 16I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them." |
| 17This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come; send for the most skillful of them. | 17This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come; send for the most skillful of them. |
| 18Let them come quickly and wail over us till our eyes overflow with tears and water streams from our eyelids. | 18Let them come quickly and wail over us till our eyes overflow with tears and water streams from our eyelids. |
| 19The sound of wailing is heard from Zion: 'How ruined we are! How great is our shame! We must leave our land because our houses are in ruins.'" | 19The sound of wailing is heard from Zion: 'How ruined we are! How great is our shame! We must leave our land because our houses are in ruins.'" |
| 20Now, you women, hear the word of the LORD; open your ears to the words of his mouth. Teach your daughters how to wail; teach one another a lament. | 20Now, you women, hear the word of the LORD; open your ears to the words of his mouth. Teach your daughters how to wail; teach one another a lament. |
| 21Death has climbed in through our windows and has entered our fortresses; it has removed the children from the streets and the young men from the public squares. | 21Death has climbed in through our windows and has entered our fortresses; it has removed the children from the streets and the young men from the public squares. |
| 22Say, "This is what the LORD declares: "'Dead bodies will lie like dung on the open field, like cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather them.'" | 22Say, "This is what the LORD declares: "'Dead bodies will lie like dung on the open field, like cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather them.'" |
| 23This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, | 23This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, |
| 24but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD. | 24but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness 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-- | 25"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh-- |
| 26Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart." | 26Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart." |
| 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. | 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. |
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