Jeremiah 9:8-10

Contemporary English Version

⁸ They say they want peace,
    but this lie is deadly,
like an arrow that strikes
    when you least expect it.
⁹ Give me one good reason
not to punish them
    as they deserve.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
    have spoken.

¹⁰ I weep for the pastureland
    in the hill country.
It's so barren and scorched
    that no one travels there.
No cattle can be found there,
and birds and wild animals
    have all disappeared.