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 ^[a]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.

“Behold, ^(I)I will refine them and ^[b]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 ^[c]in his heart he ^[d]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 ^[e]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.”

“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 ^(AA)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 ^(AB)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 ^(AC)the children—^[h]no longer to be outside!
And the young men—^[i]no longer on the streets!

‘Even the carcasses of men shall fall ^(AD)as refuse on the open field,
Like cuttings after the harvester,
And no one shall gather them.’ ”

^(AE)“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his ^(AF)might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
²⁴ But ^(AG)let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, ^[j]judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
^(AH)For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

^(AL)“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
³ For the customs of the peoples are ^[k]futile;
For ^(AM)one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
⁴ They decorate it with silver and gold;
They ^(AN)fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
⁵ They are upright, like a palm tree,
And ^(AO)they cannot speak;
They must be ^(AP)carried,
Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them,
For ^(AQ)they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good.”

⁶ Inasmuch as there is none ^(AR)like You, O Lord
(You are great, and Your name is great in might),
^7 (AS)Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
For this is Your rightful due.
For ^(AT)among all the wise men of the nations,
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
⁸ But they are altogether ^(AU)dull-hearted and foolish;
A wooden idol is a ^[l]worthless doctrine.
⁹ Silver is beaten into plates;
It is brought from Tarshish,
And ^(AV)gold from Uphaz,
The work of the craftsman
And of the hands of the metalsmith;
Blue and purple are their clothing;
They are all ^(AW)the work of skillful men.
¹⁰ But the Lord is the true God;
He is ^(AX)the living God and the ^(AY)everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth will tremble,
And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.

¹² He ^(BB)has made the earth by His power,
He has ^(BC)established the world by His wisdom,
And ^(BD)has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.
^13 (BE)When He utters His voice,
There is a ^[m]multitude of waters in the heavens:
^(BF)“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”

^14 (BG)Everyone is ^(BH)dull-hearted, without knowledge;
^(BI)Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;
^(BJ)For his molded image is falsehood,
And there is no breath in them.
¹⁵ They are futile, a work of errors;
In the time of their punishment they shall perish.
^16 (BK)The Portion of Jacob is not like them,
For He is the Maker of all things,
And ^(BL)Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
^(BM)The Lord of hosts is His name.

“Behold, I will ^(BO)throw out at this time
The inhabitants of the land,
And will distress them,
^(BP)That they may find it so.”

^19 (BQ)Woe is me for my hurt!
My wound is severe.
But I say, ^(BR)“Truly this is an infirmity,
And ^(BS)I must bear it.”
^20 (BT)My tent is plundered,
And all my cords are broken;
My children have gone from me,
And they are ^(BU)no more.
There is no one to pitch my tent anymore,
Or set up my curtains.

²¹ For the shepherds have become dull-hearted,
And have not sought the Lord;
Therefore they shall not prosper,
And all their flocks shall be ^(BV)scattered.
²² Behold, the noise of the report has come,
And a great commotion out of the ^(BW)north country,
To make the cities of Judah desolate, a ^(BX)den of jackals.

²³ O Lord, I know the ^(BY)way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
²⁴ O Lord, ^(BZ)correct me, but with justice;
Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.
^25 (CA)Pour out Your fury on the Gentiles, ^(CB)who do not know You,
And on the families who do not call on Your name;
For they have eaten up Jacob,
^(CC)Devoured him and consumed him,
And made his dwelling place desolate.