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.
9. Should I not punish them for this?’declares the Lord.‘Should I not avenge myselfon such a nation as this?’
10. I will weep and wail for the mountainsand take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.They are desolate and untravelled,and the lowing of cattle is not heard.The birds have all fledand the animals are gone.