Jeremiah 9

¹ I wish say my head na well of water, and my eyes na fountain of tears, so I fit cry day and night for my people wey don die.

² I wish I fit get place to stay for desert wey I fit run commot from my people. All of them no dey faithful, dem be group of traitors.

³ Dem always dey ready to lie; na lie dey rule the land instead of truth. God say, “My people dey do one evil thing after another, and dem no accept me as their God.”

⁴ Make everybody dey watch out for him friend, and no one fit trust him brother; because every brother dey lie like Jacob, and everybody dey lie about him friend.

⁵ All of them dey mislead their friend, and no one dey tell truth; dem don teach their tongues to dey lie and dem no go stop to dey sin.

⁶ Dem dey do one violent thing after another, and one deceit behavior dey follow another. God talk say him people don reject am.

⁷ Because of this, the Almighty God say, “I go refine my people like metal and I go test them. My people don do evil - wetin I wan do with them again?

⁸ Their tongues be like deadly arrow; dem dey always dey lie. Everyone dey speak friendly word to him neighbour, but na trap he dey set for am.

⁹ Shey I no go punish them for this things? Shey I no go take revenge on this people? I, the LORD, don talk.”

¹⁰ I talk say, “I go mourn for the mountain and I go weep for the pasture, because dem don dry, and no one dey travel through them. I no hear the sound of the livestock again; bird and wild animal don fly commot.”

¹¹ God talk say, “I go destroy Jerusalem, place where wild dog dey live. The city of Judah go become desert, place where no one dey live.”

¹² I ask say, “God, why the land shatter and dry like desert, wey be say no one travel through am? Who dey wise enough wey fit understand this? Who be the person wey you don explain am to wey fit tell others?”

¹³ God answer say, “This don happen because my people don abandon the teaching wey I give them. Dem never obey me or do wetin I tell them.

¹⁴ Instead, dem stubborn and dey worship the idol of Baal as their ancestor teach them make dem do.

¹⁵ So, make you hear to wetin I, the LORD Almighty, God of Israel, go do: I go give my people bitter plant make dem chop and poison make dem drink.

¹⁶ I go scatter them among nation wey them or their ancestor never hear about before, and I go send army against them until I destroy them finish.”

¹⁷ Almighty God talk say, “Make you think about wetin dey happen! Call mourners make them come, and women wey dey sing funeral song.”

¹⁸ The people talk say, “Tell them make them hurry make them sing funeral song for us, until tears full our eyes, and until cry wet our eyelid.

¹⁹ Make you listen to sound of cry for Zion, “We don destroy! Shame don catch us completely! Our home don scatter; we must leave our land.”

²⁰ I talk say, you women, make una listen to God and make una pay attention to him word. Make una teach una daughters how to dey mourn, and una friends how to dey sing funeral song.

²¹ Death don come through our window and don enter our palace; e don cut down children for street and e don cut down young men for market place.

²² Dead body full everywhere, like load of fertilizer for field, like corn wey reaper cut and leave behind, corn wey nobody gather. Na wetin God don tell me make I say be this.”

²³ God talk say, “Make the wise no dey proud of their wisdom, and make the strong no dey proud of their strength, and make the rich no dey proud of their wealth.

²⁴ If anyone wan boast, make he boast say he know me and understand me, because my love no dey change, and I dey do wetin dey just and right. Na wetin dey please me be this. I, the LORD, don talk.”

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²⁶ God talk say, “The time dey come when I go punish people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and desert people, wey don cut their hair short. All these people dey circumcised, but dem no keep the covenant wey e mean. None of these people and none of people of Israel don keep my convenant.”