Jeremiah 9 – NIRV & CCBT

New International Reader’s Version

Jeremiah 9:1-26

1I wish my head were a spring of water!

I wish my eyes were a fountain of tears!

I would weep day and night

for my people who have been killed.

2I wish I had somewhere to go in the desert

where a traveler could stay!

Then I could leave my people.

I could get away from them.

All of them commit adultery by worshiping other gods.

They aren’t faithful to the Lord.

3“They get ready to use

their tongues like bows,”

announces the Lord.

“Their mouths shoot out lies like arrows.

They tell lies to gain power in the land.

They go from one sin to another.

They do not pay any attention to me.

4Be on guard against your friends.

Do not trust the members of your own family.

Every one of them cheats.

Every friend tells lies.

5One friend cheats another.

No one tells the truth.

They have taught their tongues how to lie.

They wear themselves out sinning.

6Jeremiah, you live among people who tell lies.

When they lie, they refuse to pay any attention to me,”

announces the Lord.

7So the Lord who rules over all says,

“I will put them through the fire to test them.

What else can I do?

My people are so sinful!

8Their tongues are like deadly arrows.

They tell lies.

With their mouths all of them speak kindly to their neighbors.

But in their hearts they set traps for them.

9Shouldn’t I punish them for this?”

announces the Lord.

“Shouldn’t I pay back the nation

that does these things?”

10I will cry and mourn over the mountains.

I will sing a song of sadness about the desert grasslands.

They are dry and empty. No one travels through them.

The mooing of cattle isn’t heard there.

The birds have flown away.

All the animals are gone.

11The Lord says, “I will knock down all of Jerusalem’s buildings.

I will make it a home for wild dogs.

The towns of Judah will be completely destroyed.

No one will be able to live in them.”

12Who is wise enough to understand these things? Who has been taught by the Lord? Who can explain them? Why has the land been destroyed so completely? Why has it become like a desert that no one can go across?

13The Lord answered me, “Because my people have turned away from my law. I gave it to them. But they have not kept it. They have not obeyed me. 14Instead, they have done what their stubborn hearts wanted them to do. They have worshiped the gods that are named Baal. They have done what their people have taught them to do through the years.” 15So now the Lord who rules over all speaks. He is the God of Israel. He says, “I will make these people eat bitter food. I will make them drink poisoned water. 16I will scatter them among the nations. They and their people before them didn’t know about these nations. With swords I will chase these people. I will hunt them down until I have destroyed them.”

17The Lord rules over all. He says,

“Here is something I want you to think about.

Send for the women who mourn for the dead.

Send for the most skilled among them.”

18Let them come quickly

and weep for us.

Let them cry until tears flow from our eyes.

Let them weep until water pours out of our eyes.

19People are heard weeping in Zion.

They are saying, “We are destroyed!

We are filled with shame!

We must leave our land.

Our houses have been torn down.”

20You women, hear the Lord’s message.

Listen to what he’s saying.

Teach your daughters how to mourn for the dead.

Teach one another a song of sadness.

21Death has climbed in through our windows.

It has entered our forts.

Death has removed the children from the streets.

It has taken the young men out of the market.

22Say, “The Lord announces,

“ ‘Dead bodies will be like human waste

lying in the open fields.

They will lie there like grain

that is cut down at harvest time.

No one will gather them up.’ ”

23The Lord says,

“Do not let wise people brag about how wise they are.

Do not let strong people boast about how strong they are.

Do not let rich people brag about how rich they are.

24But here is what the one who brags should boast about.

They should brag that they have the understanding to know me.

I want them to know that I am the Lord.

No matter what I do on earth, I am always kind, fair and right.

And I take delight in this,”

announces the Lord.

25“The days are coming when I will judge people,” announces the Lord. “I will punish all those who are circumcised only in their bodies. 26That includes the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon and Moab. It also includes all those who live in the desert in places far away. None of the people in these nations is really circumcised. And not even the people of Israel are circumcised in their hearts.”

Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)

耶利米書 9:1-26

1真希望我的頭是水泉,

眼是淚泉,

好為我被殺的同胞晝夜哭泣;

2真希望我在曠野有棲身之處,

以便遠離我的同胞,

因為他們是一群不忠不貞之徒。

3耶和華說:

「他們鼓舌如簧,射出謊言,

遍地充滿詭詐,毫無誠實;

他們行惡不斷,

不認我是上帝。

4你們要提防鄰居,

不要信賴弟兄,

因為弟兄詭計多端,

鄰居滿口是非。

5他們彼此欺騙,不說真話;

他們說謊成性,

不知疲倦地肆意犯罪;

6他們充滿詭詐,

不認我是上帝。

這是耶和華說的。」

7因此,萬軍之耶和華說:

「看啊,我要熬煉、試驗這些罪惡的子民,

除此之外,我別無選擇。

8他們舌如毒箭,說話詭詐,

對鄰居口蜜腹劍。

9難道我不該懲罰他們嗎?

難道我不該報應這樣的民族嗎?

這是耶和華說的。」

10我要為眾山悲傷痛哭,

為曠野的草原唱哀歌,

因為那裡一片荒涼,杳無人跡,

聽不見牲畜的叫聲,

飛鳥和走獸也逃去無蹤。

11耶和華說:「我要使耶路撒冷淪為廢墟,

成為豺狼出沒之地;

我要使猶大的城邑荒涼,

不見人煙。」

12誰有智慧明白這事呢?誰曾受過耶和華的指教可以講解這事呢?為什麼這片土地被蹂躪,變得荒涼、杳無人跡? 13耶和華說:「這是因為他們棄絕我賜給他們的律法,不聽從我的話,不遵守我的命令, 14執迷不悟,隨從他們祖先的教導去供奉巴力。」 15因此,以色列的上帝——萬軍之耶和華說:「看啊,我要使這百姓吃苦艾,喝毒藥; 16我要把他們分散到他們及其祖先都不認識的列國;我要使敵人追殺他們,直到滅絕他們。」

17萬軍之耶和華說:

「把陪哭的婦人請來,

把最會哭的婦人帶來,

18叫她們速來為我的子民哀哭,

哭得他們淚盈滿眶,

哭得他們淚如泉湧。

19因為從錫安傳出哀鳴,

『我們滅亡了!

我們受了奇恥大辱!

我們的家園被毀,

我們只好背井離鄉。』」

20婦人啊,你們要聽耶和華的話,

接受祂的教誨;

你們要教導女兒哀哭,

教導鄰居唱輓歌。

21因為死亡從窗戶爬進我們的城堡,

吞滅街上的孩童和廣場上的青年。

22耶和華說:「人們必屍橫遍野,

像散佈在田野上的糞便,

又像收割者身後沒有收集的禾捆。」

23耶和華說:「智者不要誇耀自己的智慧,勇士不要誇耀自己的力量,富人不要誇耀自己的財富。 24若有人誇耀,就讓他誇耀自己認識我是耶和華,知道我喜歡在地上憑慈愛、公平和正義行事。這是耶和華說的。」 25耶和華說:「看啊,時候將到,我要懲罰所有只在身體受過割禮的人, 26就是埃及人、猶大人、以東人、亞捫人、摩押人和所有住在曠野、剃了鬢髮的人,因為這些人,包括以色列人,都沒有受過真正的割禮,沒有受過內心的割禮。」