Jeremiah 9:7-16

New International Version

⁷Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refine^(A) and test^(B) them,
    for what else can I do
    because of the sin of my people?
⁸Their tongue^(C) is a deadly arrow;
    it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,^(D)
    but in their hearts they set traps^(E) for them.^(F)
⁹Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge^(G) myself
    on such a nation as this?”

¹⁰I will weep and wail for the mountains
    and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.^(H)
They are desolate and untraveled,
    and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
The birds^(I) have all fled
    and the animals are gone.

¹¹“I will make Jerusalem a heap^(J) of ruins,
a haunt of jackals;^(K)
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah^(L)
so no one can live there.”^(M)

¹²Who is wise^(N) enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?

¹³The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law.^(O) ¹⁴Instead, they have followed^(P) the stubbornness of their hearts;^(Q) they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” ¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food^(R) and drink poisoned water.^(S) ¹⁶I will scatter them among nations^(T) that neither they nor their ancestors have known,^(U) and I will pursue them with the sword^(V) until I have made an end of them.”^(W)

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Jeremiah 9:7-16

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