Jeremiah 9-10
Contemporary English Version
9 I wish that my eyes
were fountains of tears,
so I could cry day and night
for my people
who were killed.
2 I wish I could go into the desert
and find a hiding place
from all who are treacherous
and unfaithful to God.
The Lord Answers Jeremiah
3 The Lord replied:
Lies come from the mouths
of my people,
like arrows from a bow.
With each dishonest deed
their power increases,
and not one of them will admit
that I am God.
4 Jeremiah, all your friends
and relatives
tell lies about you,
so don't trust them.
5 They wear themselves out,
always looking for a new way
to cheat their friends.
6 Everyone takes advantage
of everyone else,
and no one will admit
that I am God.
7 And so I will purify
the hearts of my people
just as gold is purified
in a furnace.
I have no other choice.
8 They say they want peace,
but this lie is deadly,
like an arrow that strikes
when you least expect it.
9 Give me one good reason
not to punish them
as they deserve.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
Jeremiah Weeps for His People
10 I weep for the pastureland
in the hill country.
It's so barren and scorched
that no one travels there.
No cattle can be found there,
and birds and wild animals
have all disappeared.
11 I heard the Lord reply,
“When I am finished,
Jerusalem and the towns of Judah
will be piles of ruins
where only jackals[a] live.”
Why the Land Was Destroyed
12 I said to the Lord, “None of us can understand why the land has become like an uncrossable desert. Won't you explain why?”
13 The Lord said:
I destroyed the land because the people disobeyed me and rejected my laws and teachings. 14 They were stubborn and worshiped Baal,[b] just as their ancestors did. 15 So I, the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, promise them poison to eat and drink.[c] 16 I'll scatter them in foreign countries that they and their ancestors have never even heard of. Finally, I will send enemy soldiers to kill every last one of them.
The Women Who Are Paid To Weep
17 The Lord All-Powerful said,
“Make arrangements now
for the women who are paid
to weep at funerals,[d]
especially the women
who can cry the loudest.”
18 The people answered,
“Let them come quickly
and cry for us,
until our own eyes
are flooded with tears.
19 Now those of us on Zion cry,
‘We are ruined!
We can't stand the shame.
Our homes have been destroyed,
and we must leave our land.’
20 “We ask you women
to pay attention
to what the Lord says.
We will teach you a funeral song
that you can teach
your daughters and friends:
21 ‘We were in our fortress,
but death sneaked in
through our windows.
It even struck down
children at play
and our strongest young men.’
22 “The Lord has told us
the ground will be covered
with dead bodies,
like ungathered stalks of grain
or manure in a field.”
What the Lord Likes Best
23 The Lord says:
Don't brag about your wisdom
or strength or wealth.
24 (A) If you feel you must brag,
then have enough sense
to brag about worshiping me,
the Lord.
What I like best
is showing kindness,
justice, and mercy
to everyone on earth.
25-26 Someday I will punish the nations of Egypt, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, and the tribes of the desert.[e] The men of these nations are circumcised, but they don't worship me. And it's the same with you people of Judah. Your bodies are circumcised, but your hearts are unchanged.
The Lord Talks about Idols
10 1-2 The Lord said:
Listen to me,
you people of Israel.
Don't follow the customs
of those nations
who become frightened
when they see something strange
happen in the sky.
3 Their religion is worthless!
They chop down a tree,
carve the wood into an idol,
4 cover it with silver and gold,
and then nail it down
so it won't fall over.
5 An idol is no better
than a scarecrow.
It can't speak,
and it has to be carried,
because it can't walk.
Why worship an idol
that can't help or harm you?
Jeremiah Praises the Lord
6 Our Lord, great and powerful,
you alone are God.
7 (B) You are King of the nations.
Everyone should worship you.
No human anywhere on earth
is wiser than you.
8 Idols are worthless,
and anyone who worships them
is a fool!
9 Idols are made by humans.
A carver shapes the wood.
A metalworker hammers out
a covering of gold from Uphaz
or of silver from Tarshish.
Then the idol is dressed
in blue and purple clothes.
10 You, Lord, are the only true
and living God.
You will rule for all time.
When you are angry
the earth shakes,
and nations are destroyed.
11 You told me to say
that idols did not create
the heavens and the earth,
and that you, the Lord,
will destroy every idol.
12 With your wisdom and power
you created the earth
and spread out the heavens.
13 The waters in the heavens roar
at your command.
You make clouds appear—
you send the winds
from your storehouse
and make lightning flash
in the rain.
14 People who make idols
are so stupid!
They will be disappointed,
because their false gods
are not alive.
15 Idols are merely a joke,
and when the time is right,
they will be destroyed.
16 But you, Israel's God,
created all things,
and you chose Israel
to be your very own.
Your name is the Lord
All-Powerful.
Judah Will Be Thrown from Its Land
17 I said to the people of Judah,
“Gather your things;
you are surrounded.
18 The Lord said these troubles
will lead to your capture,
and he will throw you
from this land
like a rock from a sling.”[f]
19 The people answered,
“We are wounded
and doomed to die.
Why did we say
we could stand the pain?
20 Our homes are destroyed;
our children are dead.
No one is left
to help us find shelter.”
21 But I told them,
“Our leaders were stupid failures,
because they refused
to listen to the Lord.
And so we've been scattered
like sheep.
22 “Sounds of destruction
rumble from the north
like distant thunder.
Soon our towns will be ruins
where only jackals[g] live.”
Jeremiah Prays
23 I know, Lord, that we humans
are not in control
of our own lives.
24 Correct me, as I deserve,
but not in your anger,
or I will be dead.
25 Our enemies refuse
to admit that you are God
or to worship you.
They have wiped out our people
and left our nation
lying in ruins.
So get angry
and sweep them away!
Footnotes
- 9.11 jackals: Desert animals related to wolves, but smaller.
- 9.14 Baal: See the note at 2.23.
- 9.15 poison to eat and drink: Or “bitter disappointment to eat, and tears to drink.”
- 9.17 women … weep at funerals: Or “the women who weep for Baal”; the god Baal was believed to have died and come back to life, and some women would go to places of worship and weep over the death of Baal.
- 9.25,26 the tribes of the desert: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 10.18 like a rock from a sling: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 10.22 jackals: See the note at 9.11.
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