Jeremiah 9

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Who wil find me a wayfarer's shelter in the desert, for me to quit my people, and leave them far behind?For al of them are adulterers, a conspiracy of traitors.	1 Would that I had in the desert a travelers' lodge! That I might leave my people and depart from them. They are all adulterers, a faithless band.
2 They bend their tongues like a bow; not truth but falsehood holds sway in the land; yes, they go fromcrime to crime, but me they do not know, Yahweh declares.	2 They ready their tongues like a drawn bow; with lying, and not with truth, they hold forth in the land. They go from evil to evil, but me they know not, says the LORD.
3 Let each be on his guard against his friend; do not trust a brother, for every brother aims but to supplant,and every friend is a peddler of slander.	3 Be on your guard, everyone against his neighbor; put no trust in any brother. Every brother apes Jacob, the supplanter, every friend is guilty of slander.
4 Each one cheats his friend, never tel ing the truth; they have trained their tongues to lie and devote altheir energies to doing wrong.	4 Each one deceives the other, no one speaks the truth. They have accustomed their tongues to lying, and are perverse, and cannot repent.
5 You live in a world of bad faith! Out of bad faith, they refuse to know me, Yahweh declares.	5 Violence upon violence, deceit upon deceit: They refuse to recognize me, says the LORD.
6 And, so, Yahweh Sabaoth declares, now I shal purge them and test them, no other way to treat thedaughter of my people!	6 Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: I will smelt them and test them; how else should I deal with their wickedness?
7 Their tongue is a deadly arrow, their words are in bad faith; with his mouth each wishes his neighbourpeace, while in his heart plotting a trap for him.	7 A murderous arrow is his tongue, his mouth utters deceit; He speaks cordially with his friends, but in his heart he lays an ambush!
8 Shal I fail to punish them for this, Yahweh demands, or on such a nation fail to exact vengeance?	8 For these things, says the LORD, shall I not punish them? On a nation such as this shall I not take vengeance?
9 I raise the wail and lament for the mountains, the dirge for the desert pastures, for they have been burnt:no one passes there, the sound of flocks is heard no more. Birds of the sky and animals, al have fled, al aregone.	9 Over the mountains, break out in cries of lamentation, over the pasture lands, intone a dirge: They are scorched, and no man crosses them, unheard is the bleat of the flock; Birds of the air as well as beasts, all have fled, and are gone.
10 I shal make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair for jackals, and the towns of Judah an uninhabitedwasteland.	10 I will turn Jerusalem into a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; The cities of Judah I will make into a waste, where no one dwells.
11 Who is wise enough to understand this? To whom has Yahweh's mouth spoken to explain it? Why isthe country annihilated, burnt like the desert where no one passes?	11 Who is so wise that he can understand this? Let him to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken make it known: Why is the land ravaged, scorched like a wasteland untraversed?
12 Yahweh says, 'This is because they have forsaken my Law which I gave them and have not listened tomy voice or fol owed it,	12 The LORD answered: Because they have abandoned my law, which I set before them, and have not followed it or listened to my voice,
13 but have followed their own stubborn hearts, have fol owed the Baals as their ancestors taught them.'	13 but followed rather the hardness of their hearts and the Baals, as their fathers had taught them;
14 So Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this, 'Now I shal give this people wormwood to eat andpoisoned water to drink.	14 therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: See now, I will give them wormwood to eat and poison to drink.
15 I shal scatter them among nations unknown to their ancestors or to them; and I shal pursue them withthe sword until I have annihilated them.'	15 I will scatter them among nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known; I will send the sword to pursue them until I have completely destroyed them.
16 Yahweh Sabaoth says this, 'Prepare to cal for the mourning women! Send for those who are best at it!	16 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Attention! tell the wailing women to come, summon the best of them;
17 Let them lose no time in raising the lament over us! Let our eyes rain tears, our eyelids run withweeping!	17 Let them come quickly and intone a dirge for us, That our eyes may be wet with weeping, our cheeks run with tears.
18 A lament makes itself heard in Zion, "What ruin is ours, what utter shame! For we must leave thecountry, our homes have been knocked down!" '	18 The dirge is heard from Zion: Ruined we are, and greatly ashamed; We must leave the land, give up our homes!
19 Now listen, you women, to Yahweh's word, let your ears take in the word his own mouth speaks. Teachyour daughters how to wail and teach one another this dirge,	19 Hear, you women, the word of the LORD, let your ears receive his message. Teach your daughters this dirge, and each other this lament.
20 'Death has climbed in at our windows, and made its way into our palaces; it has cut down the childrenin the street, the young people in the squares-	20 Death has come up through our windows, has entered our palaces; It cuts down the children in the street, young people in the squares.
21 Speak! Yahweh declares this -- human corpses are strewn like dung in the open field, like sheaves leftby the reaper, with no one to gather them.'	21 The corpses of the slain lie like dung on a field, Like sheaves behind the harvester, with no one to gather them.
22 Yahweh says this, 'Let the sage not boast of wisdom, nor the valiant of valour, nor the wealthy ofriches!	22 Thus says the LORD: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor the strong man glory in his strength, nor the rich man glory in his riches;
23 But let anyone who wants to boast, boast of this: of understanding and knowing me. For I am Yahweh,who acts with faithful love, justice, and uprightness on earth; yes, these are what please me,' Yahweh declares.	23 But rather, let him who glories, glory in this, that in his prudence he knows me, Knows that I, the LORD, bring about kindness, justice and uprightness on the earth; For with such am I pleased, says the LORD.
24 'Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when I shal punish al who are circumcised only in theflesh:	24 See, days are coming, says the LORD, when I will demand an account of all those circumcised in their flesh:
25 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the men with shaven temples who live in thedesert. For al those nations, and the whole House of Israel too, are uncircumcised at heart.'	25 Egypt and Judah, Edom and the Ammonites, Moab and the desert dwellers who shave their temples. For all these nations, like the whole house of Israel, are uncircumcised in heart.