Jeremiah 9
1
Oh, a that my head were waters,
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of the daughter of my people!
2
Oh, that I had in the wilderness
A lodging place for travelers;
That I might leave my people,
And go from them!
For b they are all adulterers,
An assembly of treacherous men.
3
"And like their bow c they have bent their tongues for lies.
They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.
For they proceed from d evil to evil,
And they e do not know Me," says the LORD.
4
"Everyone f take heed to his neighbor,
And do not trust any brother;
For every brother will utterly supplant,
And every neighbor will g walk with slanderers.
5
Everyone will h deceive his neighbor,
And will not speak the truth;
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They weary themselves to commit iniquity.
6
Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they refuse to know Me," says the LORD.
7
Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts:
"Behold, i I will refine them and try them;
j For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?
8
Their tongue is an arrow shot out;
It speaks k deceit;
One speaks l peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth,
But in his heart he lies in wait.
9
m Shall I not punish them for these things?" says the LORD.
"Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?"
10
I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains,
And n for the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation,
Because they are burned up,
So that no one can pass through;
Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle.
o Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled;
They are gone.
11
"I will make Jerusalem p a heap of ruins, q a den of jackals.
I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant."
12
r Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through?
13
And the LORD said, "Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have s not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it,
14
"but they have t walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, u which their fathers taught them,"
15
therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will v feed them, this people, w with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
16
"I will x scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. y And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them."
17
Thus says the LORD of hosts:
"Consider and call for z the mourning women,
That they may come;
And send for skillful wailing women,
That they may come.
18
Let them make haste
And take up a wailing for us,
That a our eyes may run with tears,
And our eyelids gush with water.
19
For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion:
'How we are plundered!
We are greatly ashamed,
Because we have forsaken the land,
Because we have been cast out of b our dwellings.' "
20
Yet hear the word of the LORD, O women,
And let your ear receive the word of His mouth;
Teach your daughters wailing,
And everyone her neighbor a lamentation.
21
For death has come through our windows,
Has entered our palaces,
To kill off c the children - no longer to be outside!
And the young men - no longer on the streets!
22
Speak, "Thus says the LORD:
'Even the carcasses of men shall fall d as refuse on the open field,
Like cuttings after the harvester,
And no one shall gather them.' "
23
Thus says the LORD:
e "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his f might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
24
But g let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
h For in these I delight," says the LORD.
25
"Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "that i I will punish all who are circumcised with the uncircumcised -
26
"Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and all who are in the j farthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are k uncircumcised in the heart."
-
Cross References
Isaiah 22:4
Therefore I said, "Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.
Jeremiah 10:19
Woe is me for my hurt! My wound is severe. But I say, "Truly this is an infirmity, And I must bear it.
Lamentations 2:18
Their heart cried out to the Lord, "O wall of the daughter of Zion, Let tears run down like a river day and night; Give yourself no relief; Give your eyes no rest.
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 5:7
How shall I pardon you for this? Your children have forsaken Me And sworn by those that are not gods. When I had fed them to the full, Then they committed adultery And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.
Jeremiah 5:8
They were like well-fed lusty stallions; Every one neighed after his neighbor's wife.
Jeremiah 23:10
For the land is full of adulterers; For because of a curse the land mourns. The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up. Their course of life is evil, And their might is not right.
Hosea 4:2
By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed.
-
Cross References
Psalms 64:3
Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows - bitter words.
Isaiah 59:4
No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
Jeremiah 9:8
Their tongue is an arrow shot out; It speaks deceit; One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, But in his heart he lies in wait.
Hosea 4:1
Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land.
Hosea 4:2
By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed.
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 4:22
"For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge."
Jeremiah 13:23
Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.
-
Cross References
Judges 2:10
When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel.
1 Samuel 2:12
Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD.
Jeremiah 4:22
"For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge."
Hosea 4:1
Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land.
1 Corinthians 15:34
Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
-
Cross References
Psalms 12:2
They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; Wit...
Proverbs 26:24
He who hates, disguises it with his lips, And l...
Proverbs 26:25
When he speaks kindly, do not believe him, For ...
Jeremiah 9:8
Their tongue is an arrow shot out; It speaks de...
Micah 7:5
Do not trust in a friend; Do not put your confi...
Micah 7:6
For son dishonors father, Daughter rises agains...
-
Cross References
Psalms 15:3
He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend.
Proverbs 10:18
Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, And whoever spreads slander is a fool.
Jeremiah 6:28
They are all stubborn rebels, walking as slanderers. They are bronze and iron, They are all corrupters.
-
Cross References
Psalms 36:3
The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
Psalms 36:4
He devises wickedness on his bed; He sets himself in a way that is not good; He does not abhor evil.
Isaiah 59:4
No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 1:25
I will turn My hand against you, And thoroughly purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy.
Jeremiah 6:27
I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people, That you may know and test their way.
Malachi 3:3
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.
-
Cross References
Hosea 11:8
How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred.
-
Cross References
Psalms 12:2
They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
-
Cross References
Psalms 55:21
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, But war was in his heart; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 1:24
Therefore the Lord says, The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, "Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, And take vengeance on My enemies.
Jeremiah 5:9
Shall I not punish them for these things? " says the LORD. "And shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
Jeremiah 5:29
Shall I not punish them for these things? ' says the LORD. 'Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 4:26
I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the presence of the LORD, By His fierce anger.
Hosea 4:3
Therefore the land will mourn; And everyone who dwells there will waste away With the beasts of the field And the birds of the air; Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 4:25
I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled.
Hosea 4:3
Therefore the land will mourn; And everyone who dwells there will waste away With the beasts of the field And the birds of the air; Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 25:2
For You have made a city a ruin, A fortified city a ruin, A palace of foreigners to be a city no more; It will never be rebuilt.
Jeremiah 19:3
And say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle.
Jeremiah 19:8
I will make this city desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues.
Jeremiah 26:9
Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, 'This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without an inhabitant'?" And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 13:22
The hyenas will howl in their citadels, And jackals in their pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, And her days will not be prolonged.
Isaiah 34:13
And thorns shall come up in its palaces, Nettles and brambles in its fortresses; It shall be a habitation of jackals, A courtyard for ostriches.
-
Cross References
Psalms 107:43
Whoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
Isaiah 42:23
Who among you will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?
Hosea 14:9
Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right; The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them.
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 3:25
We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.
Jeremiah 7:24
Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 7:24
Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.
Jeremiah 11:8
'Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done.'"
Romans 1:21 - 24
Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
-
Cross References
Galatians 1:14
And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
1 Peter 1:18
Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers.
-
Cross References
Psalms 80:5
You have fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in great measure.
-
Cross References
Deuteronomy 29:18
So that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood.
Jeremiah 8:14
Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, And let us enter the fortified cities, And let us be silent there. For the LORD our God has put us to silence And given us water of gall to drink, Because we have sinned against the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:15
"Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: 'Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, And make them drink the water of gall; For from the prophets of Jerusalem Profaneness has gone out into all the land.'"
Lamentations 3:15
He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink wormwood.
-
Cross References
Leviticus 26:33
I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.
Deuteronomy 28:64
Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known - wood and stone.
Jeremiah 15:2 - 4
"And it shall be, if they say to you, 'Where should we go?' then you shall tell them, 'Thus says the LORD: "Such as are for death, to death; And such as are for the sword, to the sword; And such as are for the famine, to the famine; And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity."'
-
Cross References
Leviticus 26:33
I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.
Jeremiah 44:27
Behold, I will watch over them for adversity and not for good. And all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end to them.
Ezekiel 5:2
You shall burn with fire one-third in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are finished; then you shall take one-third and strike around it with the sword, and one-third you shall scatter in the wind: I will draw out a sword after them.
-
Cross References
2 Chronicles 35:25
Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah. And to this day all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. They made it a custom in Israel; and indeed they are written in the Laments.
Job 3:8
May those curse it who curse the day, Those who are ready to arouse Leviathan.
Ecclesiastes 12:5
Also they are afraid of height, And of terrors in the way; When the almond tree blossoms, The grasshopper is a burden, And desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, And the mourners go about the streets.
Amos 5:16
Therefore the LORD God of hosts, the Lord, says this: " There shall be wailing in all streets, And they shall say in all the highways, 'Alas! Alas!' They shall call the farmer to mourning, And skillful lamenters to wailing.
Matthew 9:23
When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 22:4
Therefore I said, "Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.
Jeremiah 9:1
Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jeremiah 14:17
Therefore you shall say this word to them: 'Let my eyes flow with tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter of my people Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.
-
Cross References
Leviticus 18:28
Lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you.
-
Cross References
2 Chronicles 36:17
Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand.
Jeremiah 6:11
Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD. I am weary of holding it in. "I will pour it out on the children outside, And on the assembly of young men together; For even the husband shall be taken with the wife, The aged with him who is full of days.
Jeremiah 18:21
Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, And pour out their blood By the force of the sword; Let their wives become widows And bereaved of their children. Let their men be put to death, Their young men be slain By the sword in battle.
Ezekiel 9:5
To the others He said in my hearing, "Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity.
Ezekiel 9:6
Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were before the temple.
-
Cross References
Psalms 83:10
Who perished at En Dor, Who became as refuse on the earth.
Isaiah 5:25
Therefore the anger of the LORD is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.
Jeremiah 8:1
At that time," says the LORD, "they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves.
Jeremiah 8:2
They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth.
-
Cross References
Ecclesiastes 9:11
I returned and saw under the sun that - The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.
Isaiah 47:10
"For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, 'No one sees me'; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one else besides me.'
Ezekiel 28:3 - 7
(Behold, you are wiser than Daniel! There is no secret that can be hidden from you!
-
Cross References
Psalms 33:16 - 18
No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
-
Cross References
Psalms 20:7
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But...
Psalms 44:8
In God we boast all day long, And praise Your n...
Isaiah 41:16
You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry the...
Jeremiah 4:2
And you shall swear, 'The LORD lives,' In truth...
1 Corinthians 1:31
That, as it is written, "He who glories, let hi...
2 Corinthians 10:17
But "he who glories, let him glory in the LORD.
Galatians 6:14
But God forbid that I should boast except in th...
-
Cross References
Isaiah 61:8
For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, And will make with them an everlasting covenant.
Micah 7:18
Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy.
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 4:4
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.
Romans 2:28
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
Romans 2:29
But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 25:23
Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who are in the farthest corners.
-
Cross References
Leviticus 26:41
And that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt -
Jeremiah 4:4
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.
Jeremiah 6:10
To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, And they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.
Ezekiel 44:7
When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it - My house - and when you offered My food, the fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations.
Romans 2:28
For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.