Jeremiah 9:9-26

91Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord. “Shall I not avenge Myself On a nation such as this?

10“I will take up a weeping and wailing for the 2mountains, And for the pastures of the 3wilderness a song of mourning, Because they are 4laid waste so that no one passes through, And the sound of the livestock is not heard; Both the 5birds of the sky and the animals have fled; they are gone.11I will make Jerusalem a 6heap of ruins, A haunt of 7jackals; And I will make the cities of Judah a 8desolation without inhabitant.”

12Who is the 9wise person who may understand this? And who is he to whom 10the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? 11Why is the land destroyed, laid waste like the desert, so that no one passes through? 13The Lord said, “Because they have 12abandoned My Law which I put before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it, 14but have 13followed the stubbornness of their heart and the 14Baals, 15as their 16fathers taught them,” 15therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, 17I will feed this people wormwood; and I will give them 18poisoned water to drink. 16I will also 19scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the 20sword after them until I have put an end to them.”

17This is what the Lord of armies says: “Consider and call for the 21mourning women, that they may come; And send for the 2223skillful women, that they may come!18Have them hurry and take up a wailing for us, So that our 24eyes may shed tears, And our eyelids flow with water.19For a voice of 25wailing is heard from Zion: ‘26How devastated we are! We are put to great shame, For we have 27abandoned the land Because they have torn down our homes.’”20Now hear the word of the Lord, you 28women, And let your ears receive the word of His mouth; Teach your daughters wailing, And have every woman teach her neighbor a song of mourning.21For 29death has come up through our windows; It has entered our palaces To eliminate the 30children from the streets, The young men from the public squares.22Speak, “This is what the Lord says: ‘The corpses of people will fall 31like dung on the open field, And like the sheaf after the reaper, But no one will gather them.’”

23This is what the Lord says: “32Let no wise man boast of his wisdom, nor let the 33mighty man boast of his might, nor a 34rich man boast of his riches; 24but let the one who boasts 35boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who 36exercises 37mercy, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for I 38delight in these things,” declares the Lord.

25“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet 39uncircumcised-- 26Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and 40all those inhabiting the desert who trim the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are 41uncircumcised of heart.”