2 Oh, that I could go away and forget my peopleand live in a travelers’ shack in the desert.For they are all adulterers—a pack of treacherous liars.
3 “My people bend their tongues like bowsto shoot out lies.They refuse to stand up for the truth.They only go from bad to worse.They do not know me,”says the lord.
4 “Beware of your neighbor!Don’t even trust your brother!For brother takes advantage of brother,and friend slanders friend.
5 They all fool and defraud each other;no one tells the truth.With practiced tongues they tell lies;they wear themselves out with all their sinning.
6 They pile lie upon lieand utterly refuse to acknowledge me,”says the lord.
7 Therefore, this is what the lord of Heaven’s Armies says:“See, I will melt them down in a crucibleand test them like metal.What else can I do with my people?
8 For their tongues shoot lies like poisoned arrows.They speak friendly words to their neighborswhile scheming in their heart to kill them.