Jeremiah 9:1-4

9:1 (8:23) ¹  I wish that my head were a well full of water ² 

and my eyes were a fountain full of tears!

If they were, I could cry day and night

for those of my dear people ³  who have been killed.

9:2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the desert

where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. ⁴ 

Then I would desert my people

and walk away from them

because they are all unfaithful to God,

a congregation ⁵  of people that has been disloyal to him. ⁶ 

The Lord Laments That He Has No Choice But to Judge Them

9:3 The Lord says, ⁷ 

“These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows.

Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. ⁸ 

They have become powerful in the land,

but they have not done so by honest means. ⁹ 

Indeed, they do one evil thing after another ¹⁰ 

and do not pay attention to me. ¹¹ 

9:4 Everyone must be on his guard around his friends.

He must not even trust any of his relatives. ¹² 

For every one of them will find some way to cheat him. ¹³ 

And all of his friends will tell lies about him.

[9:1]  ¹ sn Beginning with 9:1, the verse numbers through 9:26 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 9:1 ET = 8:23 HT, 9:2 ET = 9:1 HT, 9:3 ET = 9:2 HT, etc., through 9:26 ET = 9:25 HT. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.

[9:1]  ² tn Heb “I wish that my head were water.”

[9:1]  ³ tn Heb “daughter of my people.” For the translation given here see 4:11 and the note on the phrase “dear people” there.

[9:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”

[9:2]  ⁵ tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.

[9:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.

[9:3]  ⁷ tn The words “The Lord says” have been moved up from the end of the verse to make clear that a change in speaker has occurred.

[9:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “They have readied [or strung] their tongue as their bow for lies.”

[9:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “but not through honesty.”

[9:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “they go from evil to evil.”

[9:3]  ¹¹ tn Or “do not acknowledge me”; Heb “do not know me.” But “knowing” in Hebrew thought often involves more than intellectual knowledge; it involves emotional and volitional commitment as well. For יָדַע meaning “acknowledge” see 1 Chr 28:9; Isa 29:21; Hos 2:20; Prov 3:6. This word is also found in ancient Near Eastern treaty contexts where it has the idea of a vassal king acknowledging the sovereignty of a greater king (cf. H. Huffmon, “The Treaty Background of Hebrew yada,” BASOR 181 [1966]: 31-37).

[9:4]  ¹² tn Heb “Be on your guard…Do not trust.” The verbs are second masculine plural of direct address and there seems no way to translate literally and not give the mistaken impression that Jeremiah is being addressed. This is another example of the tendency in Hebrew style to turn from description to direct address (a figure of speech called apostrophe).

[9:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “cheating, each of them will cheat.”