“Beware of your friends;(A)
    do not trust anyone in your clan.(B)
For every one of them is a deceiver,[a](C)
    and every friend a slanderer.(D)
Friend deceives friend,(E)
    and no one speaks the truth.(F)
They have taught their tongues to lie;(G)
    they weary themselves with sinning.
You[b] live in the midst of deception;(H)
    in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.

Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refine(I) and test(J) them,
    for what else can I do
    because of the sin of my people?
Their tongue(K) is a deadly arrow;
    it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,(L)
    but in their hearts they set traps(M) for them.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
  2. Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)

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