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.”
1¡Ojalá mi cabeza fuera un manantial,
y mis ojos una fuente de lágrimas,
para llorar de día y de noche
por los muertos de mi pueblo!
2¡Ojalá tuviera yo en el desierto
una posada junto al camino!
Abandonaría a mi pueblo,
y me alejaría de ellos.
Porque todos ellos son adúlteros,
son una banda de traidores.
3«Tensan su lengua como un arco;
en el país prevalece la mentira, no la verdad,
porque van de mal en peor,
y a mí no me conocen
—afirma el Señor—.
4Cuídese cada uno de su amigo,
no confíe ni siquiera en el hermano,
porque todo hermano engaña,
y todo amigo difama.
5Se engañan unos a otros;
no se hablan con la verdad.
Han enseñado a sus lenguas a mentir,
y pecan hasta el cansancio.
6»Tú, Jeremías, vives en medio de engañadores,
que por su engaño no quieren reconocerme»,
afirma el Señor.
7Por eso, así dice el Señor Todopoderoso:
«Voy a refinarlos, a ponerlos a prueba.
¿Qué más puedo hacer con mi pueblo?
8Su lengua es una flecha mortífera,
su boca solo sabe engañar;
hablan cordialmente con su amigo,
mientras en su interior le tienden una trampa.
9¿Y no los he de castigar por esto?
—afirma el Señor—.
¿Acaso no he de vengarme de semejante nación?»
10Lloraré y gemiré por las montañas,
haré lamentos por las praderas del desierto,
porque están desoladas:
ya nadie las transita
ni se escuchan los mugidos del ganado.
Desde las aves del cielo hasta los animales del campo,
todos han huido.
11«Convertiré a Jerusalén en un montón de ruinas,
en una guarida de chacales.
Convertiré en desolación las ciudades de Judá;
¡las dejaré sin habitantes!»
12¿Quién es tan sabio como para entender esto? ¿A quién habló el Señor para que lo anuncie? ¿Por qué está arruinado el país, desolado como un desierto por el que nadie pasa?
13El Señor dice: «Ellos abandonaron la ley que yo les entregué; no me obedecieron ni vivieron conforme a ella. 14Siguieron la terquedad de su corazón; se fueron tras los baales, como les habían enseñado sus antepasados». 15Por eso, así dice el Señor Todopoderoso, el Dios de Israel: «A este pueblo le daré a comer ajenjo y a beber agua envenenada. 16Los dispersaré entre naciones que ni ellos ni sus antepasados conocieron; los perseguiré con espada hasta aniquilarlos».
17Así dice el Señor Todopoderoso:
«¡Atención! Llamad a las plañideras.
Que vengan las más expertas.
18Que se den prisa,
que hagan lamentación por nosotros.
Nuestros ojos se inundarán de lágrimas,
y brotará de nuestros párpados el llanto.
19Desde Sión se escuchan gemidos y lamentos:
“Hemos sido devastados;
nos han avergonzado por completo.
Tenemos que abandonar el país,
porque han derribado nuestros hogares”».
20Escuchad, mujeres, la palabra del Señor;
reciban vuestros oídos la palabra de su boca.
Enseñad a vuestras hijas a entonar endechas;
que unas a otras se enseñen este lamento:
21«La muerte se ha metido por nuestras ventanas,
ha entrado en nuestros palacios;
ha eliminado en las calles a los niños,
y en las plazas a los jóvenes.
22Yacen tendidos los cadáveres
como estiércol sobre los campos,
como gavillas que caen tras el segador,
sin que nadie las recoja»,
afirma el Señor.
23Así dice el Señor:
«Que no se gloríe el sabio de su sabiduría,
ni el poderoso de su poder,
ni el rico de su riqueza.
24Si alguien ha de gloriarse,
que se gloríe de conocerme
y de comprender que yo soy el Señor,
que actúo en la tierra con amor,
con derecho y justicia,
pues es lo que a mí me agrada
—afirma el Señor—.
25»Vienen días —afirma el Señor— en que castigaré al que haya sido circuncidado solo del prepucio: 26castigaré a Egipto, Judá, Edom, Amón, Moab, y a todos los que viven en el desierto y se rapan las sienes. Todas las naciones son incircuncisas, pero el pueblo de Israel es incircunciso de corazón».
