5  ⁱ“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born ^jI consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet ^kto the nations.”

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;

for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,

and ⁿwhatever I command you, you shall speak.

8  ^oDo not be afraid of them,

^pfor I am with you to deliver you,

declares the Lord.”

“Behold, I have put ^smy words in your mouth.

10  See, I have set you this day ^kover nations and over kingdoms,

^tto pluck up and to break down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.”

^r“What wrong did your fathers find in me

that they went far from me,

^sand went after ^tworthlessness, and became worthless?

6  They did not say, ^u‘Where is the Lord

who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

who led us ^vin the wilderness,

in a land of deserts and pits,

in a land of drought and deep darkness,

in a land that none passes through,

where no man dwells?’

7  ^wAnd I brought you into a plentiful land

to enjoy its fruits and its good things.

But when you came in, ^xyou defiled my land

and made my heritage an abomination.

8  The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’

^yThose who handle the law did not know me;

^zthe shepherds¹ transgressed against me;

^athe prophets prophesied by Baal

and went after ^bthings that do not profit.

9  “Therefore ^cI still contend with you,

declares the Lord,

and ^dwith your children’s children I will contend.

10  For cross to the coasts of ^eCyprus and see,

or send to ^fKedar and examine with care;

see if there has been such a thing.

11  ^gHas a nation changed its gods,

^heven though they are no gods?

But my people ⁱhave changed their glory

for ^bthat which does not profit.

12  Be appalled, ^jO heavens, at this;

be shocked, be utterly desolate,

declares the Lord,

13  for my people have committed two evils:

^kthey have forsaken ^lme,

the fountain of ^mliving waters,

and hewed out cisterns for themselves,

broken cisterns that can hold no water.

22  Is there no ^lbalm in Gilead?

Is there no physician there?

Why then has the health of the daughter of my people

not been restored?

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.”