English Standard Version ESV
Common English Bible CEB
1 Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
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If only my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for the wounds of my people.
2 Oh that I had in the desert a travelers’ lodging place, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, a company of treacherous men.
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If only I could flee for shelter in the desert, to leave my people and forget them— for they are all adulterers, a bunch of crooks.
3 They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord.
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They bend their tongues like bows to spew out lies; they are renowned in the land, but not for truth. They go from bad to worse. They don't know me! declares the LORD.
4 Let everyone beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.
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Be wary of your friends! Don't trust your sibling! Every sibling is a cheater, and every friend traffics in slander.
5 Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity.
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One cheats the other; no one tells the truth; they train themselves to lie; they wear themselves out by doing wrong.
6 Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit, they refuse to know me, declares the Lord.
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You live in a world of deceit, and in their deceit they refuse to know me, declares the LORD.
7 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do, because of my people?
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Therefore, the LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: I'm going to refine and test them, for what else can I do with my people?
8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully; with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he plans an ambush for him.
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Their tongue is a lethal arrow; their words are deceitful. They wish their neighbors well, but in their hearts plot their ruin.
9 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?
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Shouldn't I punish them for this? declares the LORD; shouldn't I avenge such a nation?
10 “I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains, and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness, because they are laid waste so that no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard; both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled and are gone.
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I will weep and wail for the mountains, and lament for the grazing lands in the wilderness. They are dried up and deserted; no sound of the flocks is heard; no sign of birds or animals is seen; all have vanished.
11 I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair of jackals, and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant. ”
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I will reduce Jerusalem to ruins, a den for wild dogs. I will make the towns of Judah a wasteland, without inhabitant.
12 Who is the man so wise that he can 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?
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Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been taught by the LORD and can therefore explain it? Why has the land been reduced to rubble and laid waste like a desert, with no one passing through?
13 And the Lord says: “Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it,
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The LORD says: It is because they have abandoned my Instruction that I gave them, and haven't obeyed or followed it.
14 but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.
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Instead, they have followed their own willful hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.
15 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink.
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Therefore, this is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: I'm going to feed this people bitter food and give them poison to drink.
16 I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them. ”
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I will scatter them among nations about whom neither they nor their ancestors have ever heard. I will pursue them with the sword until all are gone.
17 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider, and call for the mourning women to come; send for the skillful women to come;
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The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Pay attention! Summon the women who mourn, let them come; send for those best trained, let them come.
18 let them make haste and raise a wailing over us, that our eyes may run down with tears and our eyelids flow with water.
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Hurry! Let them weep for us so that our eyes fill up with tears and water streams down.
19 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How we are ruined! We are utterly shamed, because we have left the land, because they have cast down our dwellings. ’”
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The sound of sobbing is heard from Zion: "We're devastated! We're so ashamed! We have to leave the land and abandon our homes!"
20 Hear, O women, the word of the Lord, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; teach to your daughters a lament, and each to her neighbor a dirge.
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Women, hear the LORD's word. Listen closely to the word from his mouth: teach your daughters to mourn; teach each other to grieve.
21 For death has come up into our windows; it has entered our palaces, cutting off the children from the streets and the young men from the squares.
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Death has climbed through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to eliminate children from the streets, the youth from the squares.
22 Speak: “Thus declares the Lord, ‘The dead bodies of men shall fall like dung upon the open field, like sheaves after the reaper, and none shall gather them. ’”
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Declare what the LORD says: Dead bodies will lie like dung on the fields, like bundles of grain after the harvest, with no one to pick them up.
23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,
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The LORD proclaims: the learned should not boast of their knowledge, nor warriors boast of their might, nor the rich boast of their wealth.
24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord. ”
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No, those who boast should boast in this: that they understand and know me. I am the LORD who acts with kindness, justice, and righteousness in the world, and I delight in these things, declares the LORD.
25 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh—
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The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will deal with everyone who is physically circumcised:
26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart. ”
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whether they are Egyptians or Judeans, Edomites or Ammonites, Moabites or the desert dwellers who cut the hair on their foreheads. All these nations are really uncircumcised; even the people of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible