Jeremiah 8
8
1The Lord declares, “At that time the bones of the kings and the leaders of Judah, the bones of the priests and the prophets, and the bones of the others who lived in Jerusalem will be taken out of their graves. 2They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon, and all the stars in the sky. These are the things that they had loved, served, gone after, sought, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered or buried, but they will become manure on the ground.
3“Then the few who remain from these wicked people will want to die rather than live where I will scatter them,” declares the Lord of Armies.
The Lord’s Judgment on Judah’s False Religion
4“Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
When someone falls, he gets back up.
When someone turns away from me, he returns.
5The people of Jerusalem turned away from me without ever returning.
They still cling to deceit.
They refuse to return.
6I have paid attention and listened,
but they weren’t honest.
They don’t turn away from their wickedness and ask,
“What have we done?”
They go their own ways like horses charging into battle.
7Even storks know when it’s time to return.
Mourning doves, swallows, and cranes know
when it’s time to migrate.
But my people don’t know
that I, the Lord, am urging them to return.
8“ ‘How can you say that you are wise
and that you have the Lord’s teachings?
The scribes have used their pens to turn these teachings into lies.
9Wise people are put to shame, confused, and trapped.
They have rejected the Lord’s word.
They don’t really have any wisdom.
10That is why I will give their wives to other men
and their fields to new owners.
All of them, from the least important to the most important,
are eager to make money dishonestly.
All of them, from prophets to priests, act deceitfully.
11They treat my dear people’s wounds
as though they were not serious, saying,
“Everything is alright! Everything is alright!”
But it’s not alright.
12Are they ashamed that they do disgusting things?
No, they’re not ashamed.
They don’t even know how to blush.
So they will die with those who die.
They will be brought down when I punish them,’ ” says the Lord.
13“ ‘I would have gathered their harvest,’ ” declares the Lord,
“ ‘but there are no grapes on the vine.
There are no figs on the tree,
and the leaves have dried up.
What I have given them will be taken away.’ ”
14Why are we just sitting here? Let’s get up!
Let’s go into the fortified cities and die there.
The Lord our God has condemned us to die.
He has given us poison to drink
because we have sinned against the Lord.
15We hoped for peace, but nothing good has happened.
We hoped for a time of healing, but there’s only terror.
16The snorting of horses can be heard from Dan.
The neighing of stallions makes the whole land tremble.
They are coming to devour the land and everything in it,
the city and its people.
17“I am going to send snakes among you,
vipers that can’t be charmed.
They will bite you,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Grief over His People’s Punishment
18Sorrow has overwhelmed me.
I am sick at heart!
19The cry from my dear people comes from a distant land:
“Isn’t the Lord in Zion?
Isn’t Zion’s king still there?”
They make me furious with their idols, with their foreign gods.
20The harvest is past,
the summer has ended,
and we haven’t been saved.
21I am crushed because my dear people have been crushed.
I mourn; terror grips me.
22Isn’t there medicine in Gilead?
Aren’t there doctors there?
Then why hasn’t the health of my dear people been restored?
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. 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.