1. Oh, that my head were a spring of waterand my eyes a fountain of tears!I would weep day and nightfor the slain of my people.
2. Oh, that I had in the deserta lodging place for travellers,so that I might leave my peopleand go away from them;for they are all adulterers,a crowd of unfaithful people.
3. ‘They make ready their tonguelike a bow, to shoot lies;it is not by truththat they triumph in the land.They go from one sin to another;they do not acknowledge me,’declares the Lord.
4. ‘Beware of your friends;do not trust anyone in your clan.For every one of them is a deceiver,and every friend a slanderer.
5. Friend deceives friend,and no one speaks the truth.They have taught their tongues to lie;they weary themselves with sinning.
6. You live in the midst of deception;in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,’declares the Lord.
7. Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:‘See, I will refine and test them,for what else can I dobecause of the sin of my people?
8. Their tongue is a deadly arrow;it speaks deceitfully.With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbours,but in their hearts they set traps for them.