Jeremiah 9:2-4

Complete Jewish Bible

²⁽³⁾They bend their tongues, their ‘bow’ of falsehood,
and hold sway in the land, but not for truth.
For they go from evil to evil,
and me they do not know,”

says Adonai.

³⁽⁴⁾Everyone, be on guard against your neighbor,
don’t trust even a brother;
for every brother is out to trick you,
and every neighbor goes around gossiping.
⁴⁽⁵⁾Everyone deceives his neighbor,
no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongues to lie,
they wear themselves out with sinning.

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Jeremiah 9:2-4

New International Version

²Oh, that I had in the desert^(A)
    a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
    and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,^(B)
    a crowd of unfaithful^(C) people.

³“They make ready their tongue
    like a bow, to shoot lies;^(D)
it is not by truth
    that they triumph^[a] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
    they do not acknowledge^(E) me,”
declares the Lord.
⁴“Beware of your friends;^(F)
    do not trust anyone in your clan.^(G)
For every one of them is a deceiver,^[b]^(H)
    and every friend a slanderer.^(I)

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Footnotes

Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob

Jeremiah 9:2-4

New King James Version

²Oh, that I had in the wilderness
A lodging place for travelers;
That I might leave my people,
And go from them!
For ^(A)they are all adulterers,
An assembly of treacherous men.

³“And like their bow ^(B)they have bent their tongues for lies.
They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.
For they proceed from ^(C)evil to evil,
And they ^(D)do not know Me,” says the Lord.
⁴“Everyone^(E) take heed to his ^[a]neighbor,
And do not trust any brother;
For every brother will utterly supplant,
And every neighbor will ^(F)walk with slanderers.