1. If my head were filled with water, and if my eyes were a fountain of tears, I would cry day and night for my people who have been destroyed.
2. If only I had a place in the desert— a house where travelers spend the night— so I could leave my people. I could go away from them, because they are all unfaithful to God. They have all turned against him.
3. “They use their tongues like a bow; lies fly from their mouths like arrows. Lies, not truth, have grown strong in this land. They go from one sin to another. They don’t know me.” This is what the Lord said.
4. “Watch your neighbors! Don’t trust your own brothers, because every brother is a cheat. Every neighbor talks behind your back.
5. Everyone lies to their neighbor. No one speaks the truth. The people of Judah have taught their tongues to lie. They sinned until they were too tired to come back.
6. One bad thing followed another, and lies followed lies. The people refused to know me.” This is what the Lord said.
7. So the Lord All-Powerful says, “A worker heats metal in a fire to test it and see if it is pure. I will test the people of Judah like that. I have no other choice. My people have sinned.
8. The people of Judah have tongues as sharp as arrows. Their mouths speak lies. They all speak kindly to their neighbors, but they are secretly planning ways to attack them.