Jeremiah 8
8
1At that time, declares the LORD, the bones of the kings of Judah and its officers, the bones of the priests and the prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be taken from their graves 2and exposed to the sun, the moon, and the whole heavenly forces, which they have loved and served and which they have followed, consulted, and worshipped. Their bones won’t be gathered for reburial but will become like refuse lying on the ground. 3The survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, wherever I have scattered them, declares the LORD of heavenly forces.
Depth of Judah’s wrongdoing
4Say to them, The LORD proclaims:
When people fall down, don’t they get up?
When they turn aside, don’t they turn back?
5Why then does this people, rebellious Jerusalem,
persistently turn away from me?
They cling to deceit
and refuse to return.
6I have listened carefully
but haven’t heard a word of truth from them.
No one regrets their wrongdoing;
no one says, “What have I done?”
Everyone turns to their own course,
like a stallion dashing into the thick of battle.
7Even the stork in the sky knows the seasons,
and the dove, swallow,#8.7 Heb uncertain and crane#8.7 Heb uncertain
return in due time.
But my people don’t know the LORD’s ways.
8How can you say, “We are wise;
we possess the LORD’s Instruction,”
when the lying pen of the scribes has surely distorted it?
9The wise will be shamed and shocked
when they are caught.
Look, they have rejected the LORD’s word;
what kind of wisdom is that?
10Therefore, I will give their wives to others
and their fields to their captors.
From the least to the greatest,
all are eager to profit.
From prophet to priest,
all trade in falsehood.
11They treat the wound of my people
as if it were nothing:
“All is well, all is well,” they insist,
when in fact nothing is well.
12They should be ashamed
of their detestable practices,
but they have no shame;
they don’t even blush!
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen
and stumble when disaster arrives,
declares the LORD.
13I will put an end to them,#8.13 Heb uncertain
declares the LORD;
there are no grapes on the vine,
no figs on the tree,
only withered leaves.
They have squandered what I have given them!#8.13 Heb uncertain
A lament for God’s people
14Why are we sitting here?
Come, let’s go to the fortified towns
and meet our doom there.
The LORD our God has doomed us
by giving us poisoned water to drink,
because we have sinned against the LORD!
15We longed for relief,
but received none;
for a time of healing,
but found only terror.
16The snorting of their horses can be heard as far as Dan;
the neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble.
They come to devour the land and everything in it,
towns and people alike.
17See, I’m sending serpents against you,
vipers that you can’t charm,
and they will bite you,
declares the LORD.
18No healing,
only grief;
my heart is broken.#8.18 Heb uncertain
19Listen to the weeping of my people
all across the land:
“Isn’t the LORD in Zion?
Is her king no longer there?”
Why then did they anger me with their images,
with pointless foreign gods?
20“The harvest is past,
the summer has ended,
yet we aren’t saved.”
21Because my people are crushed,
I am crushed;
darkness and despair overwhelm me.
What to do with God’s people
22Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then have my people
not been restored to health?
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Jeremiah 8: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 8
8
1“At that time,” says the Lord, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. 2They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and #2 Kin. 23:5; Jer. 19:13; Ezek. 8:16; Zeph. 1:5; Acts 7:42which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered #Jer. 22:19nor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. 3Then #Job 3:21, 22; 7:15, 16; Jon. 4:3; Rev. 9:6death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says the Lord of hosts.
The Peril of False Teaching
4“Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“Will they fall and not rise?
Will one turn away and not return?
5Why has this people #Jer. 7:24slidden back,
Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?
#Jer. 9:6They hold fast to deceit,
#Jer. 5:3They refuse to return.
6#Ps. 14:2; (Is. 30:18; Mal. 3:16; 2 Pet. 3:9)I listened and heard,
But they do not speak aright.
#Ezek. 22:30; Mic. 7:2; Rev. 9:20No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his own course,
As the horse rushes into the battle.
7“Even #Prov. 6:6–8; Song 2:12; Is. 1:3; Matt. 16:2, 3the stork in the heavens
Knows her appointed times;
And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow
Observe the time of their coming.
But #Jer. 5:4; 9:3My people do not know the judgment of the Lord.
8“How can you say, ‘We are wise,
#Rom. 2:17And the law of the Lord is with us’?
Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.
9#Is. 19:11; Jer. 6:15; (1 Cor. 1:27)The wise men are ashamed,
They are dismayed and taken.
Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord;
So #Is. 44:25; Jer. 4:22what wisdom do they have?
10Therefore #Deut. 28:30; Amos 5:11; Zeph. 1:13I will give their wives to others,
And their fields to those who will inherit them;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is given to #Is. 56:11; 57:17; Jer. 6:13covetousness;
From the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.
11For they have #Jer. 6:14healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly,
Saying, #Ezek. 13:10‘Peace, peace!’
When there is no peace.
12Were they #Ps. 52:1, 7; Is. 3:9; Jer. 3:3; 6:15; Zeph. 3:5ashamed when they had committed abomination?
No! They were not at all ashamed,
Nor did they know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
In the time of their punishment
They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.
13“I will surely consume them,” says the Lord.
“No grapes shall be #Jer. 5:17; 7:20; Joel 1:17on the vine,
Nor figs on the #Matt. 21:19; Luke 13:6fig tree,
And the leaf shall fade;
And the things I have given them shall #Deut. 28:39, 40pass away from them.” ’ ”
14“Why do we sit still?
#Jer. 4:5Assemble yourselves,
And let us enter the fortified cities,
And let us be silent there.
For the Lord our God has put us to silence
And given us #Deut. 29:18; Ps. 69:21; Jer. 9:15; Lam. 3:19; Matt. 27:34water of gall to drink,
Because we have sinned against the Lord.
15“We #Jer. 14:19looked for peace, but no good came;
And for a time of health, and there was trouble!
16The snorting of His horses was heard from #Judg. 18:29; Jer. 4:15Dan.
The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of His #Jer. 47:3strong ones;
For they have come and devoured the land and all that is in it,
The city and those who dwell in it.”
17“For behold, I will send serpents among you,
Vipers which cannot be #Ps. 58:4, 5charmed,
And they shall bite you,” says the Lord.
The Prophet Mourns for the People
18I would comfort myself in sorrow;
My heart is faint in me.
19Listen! The voice,
The cry of the daughter of my people
From #Is. 39:3; Jer. 5:15a far country:
“Is not the Lord in Zion?
Is not her King in her?”
“Why have they provoked Me to anger
With their carved images—
With foreign idols?”
20“The harvest is past,
The summer is ended,
And we are not saved!”
21#Jer. 9:1For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt.
I am #Jer. 14:2; Joel 2:6; Nah. 2:10mourning;
Astonishment has taken hold of me.
22Is there no #Gen. 37:25; Jer. 46:11balm in Gilead,
Is there no physician there?
Why then is there no recovery
For the health of the daughter of my people?
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.