Jeremiah 9

Jeremiah Grieves for His People

1 1 m Oh that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
for the slain of j the daughter of my people!
 2 2 Oh that I had in the desert
a travelers' lodging place,
that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
For they are all n adulterers,
a company of o treacherous men.
 3 p They bend their tongue like a bow;
falsehood and not truth has grown strong 3 in the land;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
q and they do not know me, declares the Lord.

4 r Let everyone beware of his neighbor,
and put no trust in any brother,
for every s brother is a deceiver,
and every neighbor t goes about as a slanderer.
 5 Everyone deceives his neighbor,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
they weary themselves committing iniquity.
 6 Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,
u they refuse to know me, declares the Lord.

7 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
"Behold, v I will refine them and w test them,
for what else can I do, j because of my people?
 8 x Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
y it speaks deceitfully;
with his mouth z each speaks peace to his neighbor,
but in his heart a he plans an ambush for him.
 9 b Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?

10 "I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,
and a lamentation for c the pastures of the wilderness,
d because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
e both the birds of the air and the beasts
have fled and are gone.
 11 f I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
g a lair of jackals,
h and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
without inhabitant."

12 i Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined j and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? 13 And the Lord says: k "Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, 14 but l have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: m Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them n poisonous water to drink. 16 o I will scatter them among the nations p whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will q send the sword after them, until I have consumed them."

17 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
r "Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;
send for the skillful women to come;
 18 let them make haste s and raise a wailing over us,
t that our eyes may run down with tears
and our eyelids flow with water.
 19 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
u 'How we are ruined!
We are utterly shamed,
because we have left the land,
because they have cast down our dwellings.'"

20 Hear, O women, the word of the Lord,
and let your ear receive the word of his mouth;
teach to your daughters a lament,
and each to her neighbor a dirge.
 21 For death has come up into our windows;
it has entered our palaces,
v cutting off the children from the streets
and the young men from the squares.
 22 Speak, "Thus declares the Lord:
w 'The dead bodies of men shall fall
like dung upon the open field,
x like sheaves after the reaper,
and none shall gather them.'"

23 Thus says the Lord: y "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but z let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. a For in these things I delight, declares the Lord."

25 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when b I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh - 26 c Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and d all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are e uncircumcised in heart."

  1. Cross References
    Jeremiah 13:17
    But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears, because the Lord 's flock has been taken captive.
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 8:21
    For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded; I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 5:7 - 8
    How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores.
    Jeremiah 23:10
    For the land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land mourns, and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. Their course is evil, and their might is not right.
    Hosea 7:4
    They are all adulterers; they are like a heated oven whose baker ceases to stir the fire, from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
  4. Cross References
    Isaiah 21:2
    A stern vision is told to me; the traitor betrays, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, O Elam; lay siege, O Media; all the sighing she has caused I bring to an end.
  5. Cross References
    Psalms 64:3
    Who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows.
  6. Cross References
    Judges 2:10
    And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
    Hosea 4:1
    Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land.
  7. Cross References
    Jeremiah 12:6
    For even your brothers and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; they are in full cry after you; do not believe them, though they speak friendly words to you.
    Psalms 41:9
    Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
    Micah 7:5
    Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.
  8. Cross References
    Genesis 27:36
    Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:28
    They are all stubbornly rebellious, going about with slanders; they are bronze and iron; all of them act corruptly.
    Leviticus 19:16
    You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
  10. Cross References
    Jeremiah 8:5
    Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return.
  11. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:25
    I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:27
    I have made you a tester of metals among my people, that you may know and test their ways.
  13. Cross References
    Jeremiah 8:21
    For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded; I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.
  14. Cross References
    Psalms 57:4
    My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts - the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
  15. Cross References
    Psalms 12:2
    Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
    Psalms 120:3
    What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue?
  16. Cross References
    Psalms 28:3
    Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts.
  17. Cross References
    Hosea 7:6
    For with hearts like an oven they approach their intrigue; all night their anger smolders; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
  18. Cross References
    Jeremiah 5:9
    Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord ; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?
    Jeremiah 5:29
    Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 12:4
    How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field wither? For the evil of those who dwell in it the beasts and the birds are swept away, because they said, "He will not see our latter end.
    Psalms 65:12
    The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy.
  20. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:12
    Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through?
  21. Cross References
    Jeremiah 4:25
    I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled.
  22. Cross References
    Isaiah 25:2
    For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the foreigners' palace is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
  23. Cross References
    Jeremiah 10:22
    A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes! - a great commotion out of the north country to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a lair of jackals.
    Jeremiah 49:33
    Hazor shall become a haunt of jackals, an everlasting waste; no man shall dwell there; no man shall sojourn in her.
    Jeremiah 51:37
    And Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the haunt of jackals, a horror and a hissing, without inhabitant.
  24. Cross References
    Jeremiah 34:22
    Behold, I will command, declares the Lord, and will bring them back to this city. And they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.
    Jeremiah 44:6
    Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they became a waste and a desolation, as at this day.
  25. Cross References
    Jeremiah 23:18
    For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord to see and to hear his word, or who has paid attention to his word and listened?
    Psalms 107:43
    Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
    Hosea 14:9
    Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.
  26. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:10
    I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains, and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness, because they are laid waste so that no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard; both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled and are gone.
  27. Cross References
    Psalms 89:30 - 32
    If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules.
  28. Cross References
    Jeremiah 3:17
    At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.
  29. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 29:18
    Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.
    Psalms 80:5
    You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure.
  30. Cross References
    Jeremiah 8:14
    Why do we sit still? Gather together; let us go into the fortified cities and perish there, for the Lord our God has doomed us to perish and has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.
  31. Cross References
    Leviticus 26:33
    And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.
    Deuteronomy 28:64
    And the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
  32. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:14
    I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.
  33. Cross References
    Jeremiah 14:12
    Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.
    Jeremiah 49:37
    I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the Lord. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.
    Ezekiel 5:2
    A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them.
    Ezekiel 5:12
    A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them.
  34. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 35:25
    Jeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah; and all the singing men and singing women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They made these a rule in Israel; behold, they are written in the Laments.
  35. Cross References
    Amos 5:16
    Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord: "In all the squares there shall be wailing, and in all the streets they shall say, 'Alas! Alas!' They shall call the farmers to mourning and to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation.
    Matthew 9:23
    And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion.
    Mark 5:38
    They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.
  36. Cross References
    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
    You shall say to them this word: 'Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound, with a very grievous blow.
  37. Cross References
    Jeremiah 4:13
    Behold, he comes up like clouds; his chariots like the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles - woe to us, for we are ruined!
  38. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:11
    Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord ; I am weary of holding it in. "Pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the gatherings of young men, also; both husband and wife shall be taken, the elderly and the very aged.
  39. Cross References
    Jeremiah 8:2
    And they shall be spread before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, which they have gone after, and which they have sought and worshiped. And they shall not be gathered or buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground.
  40. Cross References
    Leviticus 23:22
    "And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God."
    Job 5:26
    You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season.
  41. Cross References
    Proverbs 3:5
    Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
    Proverbs 21:30
    No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the Lord.
    Ecclesiastes 9:11
    Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.
  42. Cross References
    Psalms 34:2
    My soul makes its boast in the Lord ; let the humble hear and be glad.
    1 Corinthians 1:31
    So that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.
    2 Corinthians 10:17
    "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
  43. Cross References
    Micah 6:8
    He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
    Micah 7:18
    Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.
  44. Cross References
    Isaiah 24:21
    On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth.
  45. Cross References
    Jeremiah 25:19 - 21
    Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people.
  46. Cross References
    Jeremiah 25:23
    Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair.
    Jeremiah 49:32
    Their camels shall become plunder, their herds of livestock a spoil. I will scatter to every wind those who cut the corners of their hair, and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, declares the Lord.
    Leviticus 19:27
    You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.
  47. Cross References
    Leviticus 26:41
    So that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies - if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity.
    Deuteronomy 10:16
    Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.
    Ezekiel 44:7
    In admitting foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, to be in my sanctuary, profaning my temple, when you offer to me my food, the fat and the blood. You have broken my covenant, in addition to all your abominations.
    Romans 2:28 - 29
    For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.
    Jeremiah 4:4
    Circumcise yourselves to the Lord ; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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