4 “Watch out for your friends,and don’t trust your own relatives,because every relative is a cheater,and every friend tells lies about you.
5 Everyone lies to his friend,and no one speaks the truth.The people of Judah have taught their tongues to lie.They have become tired from sinning.
6 Jeremiah, you live in the middle of lies.With their lies the people refuse to know me,” says the Lord.
7 So this is what the Lord All-Powerful says:“I will test the people of Judah as a person tests metal in a fire.I have no other choice,because my people have sinned.
8 Their tongues are like sharp arrows.Their mouths speak lies.Everyone speaks nicely to his neighbor,but he is secretly planning to attack him.
9 Shouldn’t I punish the people for doing this?” says the Lord.“Shouldn’t I give a nation like this the punishment it deserves?”
10 I, Jeremiah, will cry loudly for the mountainsand sing a funeral song for the empty fields.They are empty, and no one passes through.The mooing of cattle cannot be heard.The birds have flown away,and the animals are gone.