Jeremiah 9

New International Version

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.

“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)

“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.

“‘Dead bodies will lie
    like dung^(AU) on the open field,
like cut grain behind the reaper,
    with no one to gather them.’”

“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.