1Who shall give water to mine head, and a well of tears to mine eyes? And I shall beweep day and night the slain men of the daughter of my people.

2Who shall give me into a wilderness of diverse way-goers? And I shall forsake my people, and I shall go away from them. For why all be adulterers, and the companies of trespassers against the law;

3and they held forth their tongue as a bow of leasing, and not of truth. They be comforted in earth, for they went out from evil to evil, and they knew not me, saith the Lord.

4Each man keep him from his neighbour, and have no trust in any brother of him; for why each brother deceiving shall deceive, and each friend shall go guilefully.

5And a man shall scorn his brother, and shall not speak truth; for they taught their tongue to speak leasing; they travailed to do wickedly.

6Thy dwelling is in the midst of guile; in guile they forsook to know me, saith the Lord.

7Therefore the Lord of hosts saith these things, Lo! I shall well together, and I shall prove them; for why what other thing shall I do from the face of the daughter of my people?

8The tongue of them is an arrow wounding, and [it] spake guile; in his mouth he speaketh peace with his friend, and privily he setteth treasons to him.

9Whether I shall not visit on these things, saith the Lord, either shall not my soul take vengeance on such a folk?

10On hills [or mountains] I shall take weeping and mourning, and wailing on the fair things of desert, for they be burnt [up]; for no man is passing forth, and they heard not the voice of him that wieldeth; from a bird of the air unto [the] sheep, they passed over, and went away.

11And I shall give Jerusalem into heaps of gravel, and into dens of dragons; and I shall give the cities of Judah into desolation, for there is no dweller.

12Who is a wise man that shall understand these things, and to whom the word of the mouth of the Lord shall be made, that he tell this? Why the earth perished, it is burnt as desert, for none is that passeth?

13And the Lord said, For they forsook my law, which I gave to them, and they heard not my voice, and they went not therein;

14and they went after the shrewd-ness of their heart, and after Baalim, which they learned of their fathers;

15therefore the Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, Lo! I shall feed this people with wormwood, and I shall give to them drink the water of gall.

16And I shall scatter them among heathen men, which they and their fathers knew not; and I shall send sword after them, till they be wasted.

17The Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, Behold ye, and call ye women that wail, and come they; and send ye to those women that be wise, and haste they.

18Haste they, and take they wailing on you; your eyes bring down tears, and your eyelids flow with waters;

19for the voice of wailing is heard from Zion. How be we destroyed, and shamed greatly? for we have forsaken the land, for our tabernacles be forsaken.

20Therefore, women, hear ye the word of the Lord, and your ears take the word of his mouth; and teach ye your daughters wailing, and each woman teach her neighbour mourning.

21For why death ascended [or went up] by your windows, it entered into your houses, to lose little children withoutforth, and young men from the streets.

22Speak thou, The Lord saith these things, And the dead body of a man shall fall down as a turd on the face of the country, and as hay behind the back of the mower, and none there is that gathereth.

23The Lord saith these things, A wise man have not glory in his wisdom, and a strong man have not glory in his strength, and a rich man have not glory in his riches;

24but he that hath glory, have glory in this, to know and know me, for I am the Lord, that do mercy, and doom, and rightfulness [or rightwiseness] in [the] earth. For why these things please me, saith the Lord.

25Lo! days come, saith the Lord, and I shall visit on each man that hath prepuce uncircumcised;

26on Egypt, and on Judah, and on Edom, and on the sons of Ammon, and on Moab, and on all men that be clipped on long hair, and dwell in desert; for why all heathen men have prepuce, forsooth all the house of Israel be uncircumcised in heart.