4. "Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor, And do not trust any brother; Because every brother deals craftily, And every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.
5. "Everyone deceives his neighbor And does not speak the truth, They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves committing iniquity.
6. "Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse to know Me," declares the Lord.
7. Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, "Behold, I will refine them and assay them; For what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?
8. "Their tongue is a deadly arrow; It speaks deceit; With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, But inwardly he sets an ambush for him.
9. "Shall I not punish them for these things?" declares the Lord. "On a nation such as this Shall I not avenge Myself?
10. "For the mountains I will take up a weeping and wailing, And for the pastures of the wilderness a dirge, Because they are laid waste so that no one passes through, And the lowing of the cattle is not heard; Both the birds of the sky and the beasts have fled; they are gone.
11. "I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, A haunt of jackals; And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant."