Jeremiah 8
8
Death over Life
1“At that time” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of her officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves. # 2Kg 9:37; 23:16; Am 2:1 2They will be exposed # 2Sm 21:12-14; Ps 53:5; Ezk 6:5 to the sun, the moon, and the whole heavenly host, # Dt 4:19; 2Kg 17:16; 21:3; 23:4-5; Ezk 8:16 which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be collected and buried but will become like manure on the surface of the soil. # Ps 83:10; Jr 9:22; 16:4; 25:33 3Death will be chosen over life # Dt 30:11-20; Jb 3:21-22; 7:15-16; Rev. 9:6 by all the survivors of this evil family, those who remain wherever I have banished them.” # Jr 23:3,8; 29:14,18; 32:37; Dn 9:7This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.
4“You are to say to them: This is what the Lord says:
Do people fall and not get up again? # Is 24:20; Jr 25:27; Am 5:2
If they turn away, do they not return?
5Why have these people turned away?
Why is Jerusalem always turning away?
They take hold of deceit; # Jr 14:14; 23:26; Zph 3:13
they refuse to return. # Jr 5:3; Hs 11:5
6I have paid careful attention.
They do not speak what is right.
No one regrets his evil,
asking, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone has stayed his course
like a horse rushing into battle. # Jb 39:19-25
7Even the stork in the sky
knows her seasons.
The turtledove, swallow, and crane # Hb obscure
are aware of their migration,
but My people do not know
the requirements of the Lord. # 2Kg 17:26; Ps 95:10; Is 1:3; Jr 4:22; 5:4
Punishment for Judah’s Leaders
8“How can you claim, ‘We are wise;
the law of the Lord is with us’?
In fact, the lying pen of scribes # Jb 19:24; Ps 45:1; Jr 17:1
has produced falsehood.
9The wise will be put to shame;
they will be dismayed and snared.
They have rejected the word of the Lord, # 1Sm 15:23,26
so what wisdom do they really have?
10Therefore, I will give # Jr 6:13-15 their wives to other men,
their fields to new occupants,
for from the least to the greatest, # Est 1:20; Jr 6:13; 31:34; 42:1,8; 44:12
everyone is making profit dishonestly.
From prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
11They have treated superficially the brokenness
of My dear # Lit of the daughter of My people,
claiming, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
12Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently?
They weren’t at all ashamed.
They can no longer feel humiliation.
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
When I punish them, they will collapse,” # Jr 10:15; 49:8; 51:18
says the Lord.
13I will gather them and bring them to an end. # Lit Gathering I will end them # Zph 1:2
This is the Lord’s declaration.
There will be no grapes on the vine,
no figs on the fig tree,
and even the leaf will wither.
Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.
God’s People Unrepentant
14Why are we just sitting here?
Gather together; let us enter the fortified cities
and perish there, # Or there be silenced
for the Lord our God has destroyed # Or silenced us.
He has given us poisoned water to drink, # 2Kg 7:3-4; Jr 9:15; 21:8-9
because we have sinned against the Lord. # Is 64:5; Jr 3:25; 14:7,20; Lm 3:42; 5:16; Dn 9:5
15We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good;
for a time of healing, but there was only terror. # Jr 14:19; 33:9
16From Dan the snorting of horses is heard.
At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds, # Jdg 5:22; Jr 47:3; 50:11
the whole land quakes.
They come to devour the land and everything in it,
the city and all its residents.
17Indeed, I am about to send snakes among you,
poisonous vipers # Nm 21:6-9; Dt 32:24 that cannot be charmed. # Ps 58:4-5; Ec 10:11
They will bite you.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Lament over Judah
18My joy has flown away;
grief has settled on me.
My heart is sick. # Lm 5:17
19Listen — the cry of my dear # Lit of the daughter of my people
from a far away land,
“Is the Lord no longer in Zion, # Ps 99:2; 102:21; Jr 14:9; Jl 3:17,21; Mc 3:11
her King not within her? ”
Why have they provoked me to anger
with their carved images,
with their worthless foreign idols? # Dt 32:21; Jr 2:5
20Harvest has passed, summer has ended,
but we have not been saved.
21I am broken by the brokenness
of my dear # Lit of the daughter of my people. # Jr 6:14; 8:11
I mourn; horror has taken hold of me.
22Is there no balm in Gilead? # Gn 37:25; Jr 46:11
Is there no physician there?
So why has the healing of my dear # Lit of the daughter of my people
not come about?
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Jeremiah 8: HCSB
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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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