1. I wish my head were like a spring of water.And I wish my eyes were a fountain of tears!Then I could cry day and nightfor my people who have been killed.
2. I wish I had a place in the desert—a house where travelers spend the night.Then I could leave my people.I could go away from them.This is because they are all unfaithful to God.They are all turning against him.
3. “They use their tongues like a bow.They shoot lies from their mouths like arrows.Lies, not truth,have grown strong in the land.They go from one evil thing to another.They do not know who I am,” says the Lord.
4. “Watch your friends.Don’t trust your own brothers.This is because every brother is a cheater.And every friend tells lies about you.
5. Everyone lies to his friend.No one speaks the truth.The people of Judah have taught their tongues to lie.They become tired from sinning.
6. Jeremiah, you live in the middle of evil.And lies follow lies.The people have refused to know me,” says the Lord.
7. So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:“I will test the people of Judah as a person tests metal in a fire.I have no other choice.My people have sinned.
8. Their tongues are like sharp arrows.Their mouths speak lies.Everyone speaks nicely to his neighbor.But he is secretly planning to attack him.
9. Shouldn’t I punish the people for doing this?” says the Lord.“Shouldn’t I give them the punishment they deserve?”
10. I, Jeremiah, will cry loudly for the mountains.I will sing a funeral song for the empty fields.They are empty, and no one passes through.The mooing of cattle cannot be heard.The birds have flown away,and the animals are gone.
11. “I, the Lord, will make the city of Jerusalem a heap of ruins.It will become a home for wild dogs.I will destroy the cities in the land of Judahso no one can live there.”