1 O h, that my head were waters and my eyes a reservoir of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

Who doth make my head waters, And mine eye a fountain of tears? And I weep by day and by night, For the wounded of the daughter of my people.

2 O h, that I had in the wilderness a lodging place (a mere shelter) for wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers; they are a gang of treacherous men.

Who doth give me in a wilderness A lodging-place of travellers? And I leave my people, and go from them, For all of them adulterers, An assembly of treacherous ones.

3 A nd they bend their tongue, their bow for the lies. And not according to faithfulness do they rule and become strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know and understand and acknowledge Me, says the Lord.

And they bend their tongue, their bow a lie, And not for stedfastness have they been mighty in the land, For from evil unto evil they have gone forth, And Me they have not known, An affirmation of Jehovah!

4 L et everyone beware of his neighbor and put no trust in any brother. For every brother is an utter and complete supplanter (one who takes by the heel and trips up, a deceiver, a Jacob), and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.

Each of his friend -- beware ye, And on any brother, do not trust, For every brother doth utterly supplant, For every friend slanderously doth walk,

5 A nd they deceive and mock every one his neighbor and do not speak the truth. They have taught their tongues to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity.

And each at his friend they mock, And truth they do not speak, They taught their tongue to speak falsehood, To commit iniquity they have laboured.

6 Y our habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know and understand Me, says the Lord.

thy dwelling in the midst of deceit, Through deceit they refused to know Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.

7 T herefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will melt them and test them, for how else should I deal with the daughter of My people?

Therefore, thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Lo, I am refining them, and have tried them, For how do I do because of the daughter of My people?

8 T heir tongue is a murderous arrow; it speaks deceitfully; one speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he lays snares and waits in ambush for him.

A slaughtering arrow their tongue, Deceit it hath spoken in its mouth, Peace with its neighbour it speaketh, And in its heart it layeth its ambush,

9 S hall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord. Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?

For these things do not I see after them? An affirmation of Jehovah, Against a nation such as this doth not My soul avenge itself?

10 F or the mountains I will take up a weeping and wailing and for the pastures of the wilderness a lament, because they are burned up and desolated, so that no one passes through; neither can men hear the lowing of cattle. Both the fowls of the air and the beasts have fled, they are gone!

For the mountains I lift up weeping and wailing, And for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, For they have been burnt up without any passing over, Nor have they heard the voice of cattle, From the fowl of the heavens unto the beast they have fled, they have gone.

11 I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.

And I make Jerusalem become heaps, A habitation of dragons, And the cities of Judah I make a desolation, Without inhabitant.

12 W ho is the wise man who may understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through it?

Who the wise man? and he understandeth this, And he to whom the mouth of Jehovah spake? And he doth declare it, For what hath the land perished? It hath been burnt up as a wilderness, Without any passing through.

13 A nd the Lord says, Because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them, and have not listened to and obeyed My voice or walked in accordance with it

And Jehovah saith: Because of their forsaking My law that I set before them, And they have not hearkened to My voice nor walked in it,

14 B ut have walked stubbornly after their own hearts and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them,

And they walk after the stubbornness of their heart, And after the Baalim, that their fathers taught them,

15 T herefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood and give them bitter and poisonous water to drink.

Therefore, thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am causing them -- this people -- to eat wormwood, And I have caused them to drink water of gall,

16 I will scatter them also among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword among them and after them until I have consumed them.

And I have scattered them among nations Which they knew not, they and their fathers, And have sent after them the sword, Till I have consumed them.

17 T hus says the Lord of hosts: Consider and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come.

Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Consider ye, and call for mourning women, And they come, And to the wise women send, and they come,

18 L et them make haste and raise a wailing over us and for us, that our eyes may run down with tears and our eyelids gush with water.

And they hasten, and lift up for us a wailing. And run down our eyes do tears, And from our eyelids do waters flow.

19 F or a sound of wailing is heard out of Zion: How we are plundered and ruined! We are greatly confounded and utterly put to shame, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.

For -- a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: How have we been spoiled! We have been greatly ashamed, Because we have forsaken the land, Because they have cast down our tabernacles.

20 Y et hear the word of the Lord, O you women, and let your ears receive the word of His mouth; teach your daughters a lament, and each one her neighbor a dirge.

But hear, ye women, a word of Jehovah, And your ear receiveth a word of His mouth, And teach ye your daughters wailing, and each her neighbour lamentation.

21 F or death has come up into our windows; it has entered into our palaces, cutting off the children from outdoors and the young men from the streets.

For death hath come up into our windows, It hath come into our palaces, To cut off the suckling from without, Young men from the broad places.

22 S peak, Thus says the Lord: The dead bodies of men shall fall like dung on the open field and like sheaves behind the reaper, and none shall gather them.

Speak thus -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And fallen hath the carcase of man, As dung on the face of the field, And as a handful after the reaper, And there is none gathering.

23 T hus says the Lord: Let not the wise and skillful person glory and boast in his wisdom and skill; let not the mighty and powerful person glory and boast in his strength and power; let not the person who is rich glory and boast in his riches;

Thus said Jehovah: Let not the wise boast himself in his wisdom, Nor let the mighty boast himself in his might, Let not the rich boast himself in his riches,

24 B ut let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, Who practices loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the Lord.

But -- in this let the boaster boast himself, In understanding and knowing Me, For I Jehovah, doing kindness, Judgment, and righteousness, in the earth, For in these I have delighted, An affirmation of Jehovah.

25 B ehold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will punish all who though circumcised are still uncircumcised —

Lo, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And I have laid a charge on all circumcised in the foreskin,

26 E gypt, Judah, Edom, the children of Ammon, Moab, and all who live in the desert and who clip off the corners of their hair and beards; for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.

On Egypt, and on Judah, and on Edom, And on the sons of Ammon, and on Moab, And on all cutting the corner, Who are dwelling in the wilderness, For all the nations uncircumcised, And all the house of Israel uncircumcised in heart!