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”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of his princes, the bones of the kohanim and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves.
2They will spread them out to the sun, the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, and after which they have walked and sought, and which they have worshipped. They will not be gathered or buried, but will be like dung on the face of the ground.
3So death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family that remains in all the places to which I have driven them.” It is a declaration of Adonai-Tzva’ot.
Each Turns His Own Way
4Moreover you will say to them, thus says Adonai: “Do men fall and not get up again? Does one turn away and not return?
5Why then has this people—Jerusalem— turned away in perpetual backsliding? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.
6I listened attentively, but they have not spoken what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Each one turns in his own direction, like a horse charging into battle.
7Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed times, and the turtledove, swallow and crane observe the time of their migration, but My people do not know the judgments of Adonai.
8How can you say, ‘We are wise! The Torah of Adonai is with us’? In fact, it is the lying pen of the scribes that have made it a lie.
9The wise men will be put to shame— shattered, trapped. Look! They have rejected Adonai’s word, so what wisdom do they have?
10Therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields to new owners. For from the least to the greatest everyone is greedy for gain. From the prophet even to the kohen everyone practices deceit.
11They heal the fracture of the daughter of My people by treating it superficially— saying, ‘Shalom, shalom,’ when there is no shalom.
12Were they ashamed of the abomination they committed? No, not ashamed, not at all— they do not know how to blush! So they will fall among the fallen. At the time of their punishment they will be brought down.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
13“I will utterly consume them,” says Adonai. “There will be no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the fig tree, and even the leaf will wither, and what I gave them will pass away.”
14“Why are we sitting here? Assemble! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For Adonai Eloheinu has silenced us and given us poisoned water to drink. For we have sinned against Adonai.
15We hoped for shalom, but it is no good, for a time of healing —and suddenly, terror!”
16From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses. At the sound of his stallions neighing, the whole land quakes. For they come and devour the land and everything in it— the city and all who live there.
17“For I am about to send serpents on you, vipers for which there is no charm, and they will bite you.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
Weeping for Jerusalem
18My joy is overcome by grief, my heart is faint within me.
19Listen, the sound of the cry of the daughter of my people —a voice from a distant land— “Is Adonai no longer in Zion? Is her King no longer in her?” “Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign idols?”
20“Harvest is past, summer is over, yet we are not saved.”
21“Because of the brokenness of the daughter of my people, I am brokenhearted. I mourn—desolation grips me.
22Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Then why has no healing gone up for the daughter of my people?
23If only my head were water and my eyes a fountain of tears, then I would weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
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