1  ^{1 m}Oh that my head were waters,

and my eyes a fountain of tears,

that I might weep day and night

for the slain of ^jthe daughter of my people!

2  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 ⁿadulterers,

a company of ^otreacherous men.

3  ^pThey bend their tongue like a bow;

falsehood and not truth has grown strong³ in the land;

for they proceed from evil to evil,

^qand they do not know me, declares the Lord.

4  ^rLet everyone beware of his neighbor,

and put no trust in any brother,

for every ^sbrother is a deceiver,

and every neighbor ^tgoes about as a slanderer.

5  Everyone deceives his neighbor,

and no one speaks the truth;

they have taught their tongue to speak lies;

they weary themselves committing iniquity.

6  Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,

^uthey refuse to know me, declares the Lord.

7  Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:

“Behold, ^vI will refine them and ^wtest them,

for what else can I do, ^jbecause of my people?

8  ^xTheir tongue is a deadly arrow;

^yit speaks deceitfully;

with his mouth ^zeach speaks peace to his neighbor,

but in his heart ^ahe plans an ambush for him.

9  ^bShall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord,

and shall I not avenge myself

on a nation such as this?

10  “I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,

and a lamentation for ^cthe pastures of the wilderness,

^dbecause they are laid waste so that no one passes through,

and the lowing of cattle is not heard;

^eboth the birds of the air and the beasts

have fled and are gone.

11  ^fI will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,

^ga lair of jackals,

^hand I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,

without inhabitant.”

17  Thus says the Lord of hosts:

^r“Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;

send for the skillful women to come;

18  let them make haste ^sand raise a wailing over us,

^tthat our eyes may run down with tears

and our eyelids flow with water.

19  For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:

^u‘How we are ruined!

We are utterly shamed,

because we have left the land,

because they have cast down our dwellings.’”

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.

21  For death has come up into our windows;

it has entered our palaces,

^vcutting off the children from the streets

and the young men from the squares.

22  Speak: “Thus declares the Lord,

^w‘The dead bodies of men shall fall

like dung upon the open field,

^xlike sheaves after the reaper,

and none shall gather them.’”

“Learn not the way of the nations,

nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens

because the nations are dismayed at them,

3  ^ffor the customs of the peoples are vanity.⁴

^gA tree from the forest is cut down

and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.

4  ^hThey decorate it with silver and gold;

ⁱthey fasten it with hammer and nails

so that it cannot move.

5  Their idols⁵ are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

and ^jthey cannot speak;

^kthey have to be carried,

for they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them,

^lfor they cannot do evil,

neither is it in them to do good.”

6  ^mThere is none like you, O Lord;

you are great, and your name is great in might.

7  ⁿWho would not fear you, O King of the nations?

For this is your due;

for among all the wise ones of the nations

and in all their kingdoms

there is none like you.

8  ^oThey are both ^pstupid and foolish;

the instruction of idols is but wood!

9  ^qBeaten silver is brought from ^rTarshish,

and gold from ^sUphaz.

^qThey are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;

their clothing is violet and purple;

^tthey are all the work of skilled men.

10  ^uBut the Lord is the true God;

^vhe is the living God and the everlasting King.

At his wrath the earth quakes,

and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

12  ^yIt is he who ^zmade the earth by his power,

^zwho established the world by his wisdom,

and ^aby his understanding stretched out the heavens.

13  ^bWhen he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,

^cand he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.

^cHe makes lightning ^dfor the rain,

^cand he brings forth the wind ^efrom his storehouses.

14  ^fEvery man is stupid and without knowledge;

^gevery goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,

for his images are false,

^hand there is no breath in them.

15  They are worthless, a work of delusion;

at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

16  Not like these is he who is ⁱthe portion of Jacob,

for he is the one who formed all things,

^jand Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

^kthe Lord of hosts is his name.

17  ^lGather up your bundle from the ground,

O you who dwell under siege!

18  For thus says the Lord:

^m“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land

at this time,

ⁿand I will bring distress on them,

that they may feel it.”

19  Woe is me because of my hurt!

^oMy wound is grievous.

But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,

and I must bear it.”

20  ^pMy tent is destroyed,

and all my cords are broken;

my children have gone from me,

^qand they are not;

there is no one to spread my tent again

and ^pto set up my curtains.

21  ^rFor the shepherds ^sare stupid

and do not inquire of the Lord;

therefore they have not prospered,

^tand all their flock is scattered.

22  A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—

^ua great commotion out of the north country

to make ^vthe cities of Judah a desolation,

^va lair of jackals.

23  ^wI know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself,

that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

24  ^xCorrect me, O Lord, but in justice;

not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.

25  ^yPour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,

and on the peoples that call not on your name,

^zfor they have devoured Jacob;

they have devoured him and consumed him,

and have laid waste his habitation.

2  ^z“Judah mourns,

and ^aher gates languish;

her people lament on the ground,

and ^bthe cry of Jerusalem goes up.

3  Her nobles send their servants for water;

they come to the cisterns;

they find no water;

they return with their vessels empty;

they are ^cashamed and confounded

and ^dcover their heads.

4  Because of the ground that is dismayed,

since there is ^eno rain on the land,

the farmers are ashamed;

they cover their heads.

5  Even ^fthe doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn

because there is no grass.

6  ^gThe wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;

they pant for air like jackals;

their eyes fail

because there is no vegetation.

7  “Though our iniquities testify against us,

act, O Lord, ^hfor your name’s sake;

ⁱfor our backslidings are many;

^jwe have sinned against you.

8  ^kO you hope of Israel,

its savior in time of trouble,

why should you be like a stranger in the land,

like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?

9  Why should you be like a man confused,

^llike a mighty warrior who cannot save?

Yet ^myou, O Lord, are in the midst of us,

and ⁿwe are called by your name;

^odo not leave us.”

10  Thus says the Lord concerning this people:

“They have loved to wander thus;

they have not restrained their feet;

^ptherefore the Lord does not accept them;

^qnow he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.”

17  “You shall say to them this word:

^b‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,

and let them not cease,

for the virgin ^cdaughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,

^dwith a very grievous blow.

18  ^eIf I go out into the field,

behold, those pierced by the sword!

^eAnd if I enter the city,

behold, the diseases of famine!

^fFor both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land

and have no knowledge.’”

19  ^gHave you utterly rejected Judah?

Does your soul loathe Zion?

Why have you struck us down

^hso that there is no healing for us?

ⁱWe looked for peace, but no good came;

ⁱfor a time of healing, but behold, terror.

20  ^jWe acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,

and the iniquity of our fathers,

^jfor we have sinned against you.

21  Do not spurn us, ^kfor your name’s sake;

do not dishonor your glorious throne;

^lremember and do not break your covenant with us.

22  Are there any among ^mthe false gods of the nations ⁿthat can bring rain?

Or can the heavens give showers?

Are you not he, O Lord our God?

We set our hope on you,

^ofor you do all these things.