耶和華說:「那時,猶大王、首領、祭司、先知及耶路撒冷居民的骸骨都要從墳墓中被挖出來, 拋散在他們昔日戀慕、供奉、追隨、求問、祭拜的日月星辰之下,無人收殮和埋葬,他們好像地上的糞便。 我要把這邪惡民族的餘民流放異地,他們在那裡必痛不欲生。這是萬軍之耶和華說的。」

耶和華吩咐我對猶大人說:
「人跌倒後難道不站起來嗎?
人走錯了路難道不回頭嗎?
為什麼耶路撒冷的居民一味地背叛我?
他們詭詐成性,不肯回頭。
我仔細聽,沒有人說實話,
沒有人為自己的惡行後悔,說,
『我做了可怕的事!』
人人一意孤行,
像戰馬直奔戰場。
天空的鸛鳥尚且知道來去的季節,
斑鳩、燕子和白鶴也遵守遷徙的時間,
但我的子民卻不認識耶和華的法則。

「你們怎能說,『我們有智慧,
因為我們有耶和華的律法』?
事實上,律法教師撒謊的筆把律法篡改了。
智者必蒙羞辱,受驚嚇,
被捉拿。
看啊,他們既棄掉耶和華的話,
哪裡還有智慧可言呢?
10 因此,我要把他們的妻子和田地交給別人,
因為他們無論貴賤,
個個貪圖不義之財;
無論是先知還是祭司,
都行為詭詐。
11 他們敷衍了事地醫治我子民的傷痛,說,
『沒事了,沒事了!』
其實情況很糟。
12 他們做可憎的事會羞愧嗎?
不!他們不知廉恥,
毫不臉紅。
因此,他們要與其他人一樣滅亡,
死在我的懲罰下。
這是耶和華說的。
13 我要徹底滅絕他們。
葡萄樹必沒有葡萄,
無花果樹必沒有果子,
樹葉也要枯乾,
我所賜給他們的都要被奪走。
這是耶和華說的。」

14 他們說:「我們為什麼還坐在這裡?
大家一起進入堅城,死在那裡吧!
我們的上帝耶和華要毀滅我們,
給我們毒藥喝,
因為我們得罪了祂。
15 我們期待平安,
卻沒有平安;
渴望得到醫治,
卻飽受驚嚇。

16 「從但傳來敵人戰馬的嘶鳴,
聲音震動大地。
他們要來吞滅我們的土地和作物、城邑和居民。

17 「看啊,我要派毒蛇去咬你們,
法術無法制伏牠們。」
這是耶和華說的。
18 我有無限憂愁,傷心欲絕。
19 聽啊!遠處傳來我同胞的哀鳴:
「難道耶和華不在錫安了嗎?
難道她的王不在她那裡了嗎?」
耶和華說:「他們為什麼供奉雕刻的神像和外族無用的偶像,惹我發怒?」
20 他們說:「麥收已完,
夏季已過,
但我們還未得救。」
21 同胞的創傷令我傷心欲絕,
痛苦萬分,
驚慌失措。
22 難道基列沒有藥物、
沒有醫生嗎?
為什麼我同胞的創傷至今未癒?

猶大全國昏庸必遭災禍

“到那一天(這是耶和華的宣告),敵人要把猶大列王、首領、祭司、先知和耶路撒冷居民的骸骨,都從他們的墳墓裡取出來, 拋散在太陽、月亮和天上的萬象之下,就是他們從前所愛慕、服事、跟隨、求問、敬拜的。這些骸骨必不再被收殮埋葬,必在地面上成為糞肥。 這邪惡的家族剩下的餘民,在我驅逐他們到的各地,寧可選擇死,也不要存活。”這是萬軍之耶和華的宣告。

“你要對他們說:‘耶和華這樣說:

人跌倒了,不再起來嗎?

人偏離了,不再回轉嗎?

這人民為甚麼背道,

耶路撒冷為甚麼長久偏離?

他們定意行詭詐,

不肯回轉。

我留心聽,

但他們都不說真實的話。

沒有人為自己的惡行後悔,

說:“我究竟作了甚麼?”

他們各人繼續走自己偏差的路,

像戰馬直衝入戰場。

連空中的鸛鳥也知道自己來去的季候;

斑鳩、燕子和白鶴也謹守遷移的時令;

我的子民卻不曉得耶和華的法則。

你們怎可以說:“我們是智慧人,

我們有耶和華的律法”呢?

事實上,經學家虛假的筆

已把律法變成謊言了。

智慧人必蒙羞,

驚惶失措。

看哪!他們棄絕了耶和華的話,

他們還有甚麼智慧呢?

10 因此,我必把他們的妻子給別人,

把他們的田地給別的主人,

因為他們從最小的到最大的,

個個都貪圖不義之財;

從先知到祭司,

全都行事詭詐。

11 他們草率地醫治我子民(“我子民”原文作“我子民的女子”)的損傷,

說:“平安了!平安了!”

其實沒有平安。’

12 耶和華說:

‘他們行了可憎的事,本應覺得羞愧,

可是他們一點羞愧都沒有,

恬不知恥。

因此他們必仆倒在倒下的人中間;

我懲罰他們的時候,他們必倒下來。

13 我要徹底除掉他們的莊稼;

葡萄樹上必沒有葡萄,

無花果樹上必沒有無花果,

葉子也必枯乾。

我賜給他們的,都離開他們過去了。’”

這是耶和華的宣告。

14 我們為甚麼坐著不動呢?

你們要集合起來,我們要進入堅固的城裡去,

在那裡滅亡吧!

因為耶和華我們的 神要我們滅亡,

又把毒水給我們喝,

因我們得罪了耶和華。

15 我們期待平安,卻得不到好處;

期待得醫治的時候,不料,只有驚慌。

16 從但那裡聽見敵人戰馬的噴氣聲,

全地因聽見壯馬的嘶鳴聲震動。

他們來是要吞滅土地和地上所有的,

要吞滅城和城中的居民。

17 “看哪!我要打發毒蛇到你們中間,

是沒有法術能制伏的,

牠們必咬你們。”

這是耶和華的宣告。

18 我的愁苦無法醫治(按照《馬索拉文本》,本句意思難確定;現參照《七十士譯本》翻譯),

我的心在我裡面悲痛欲絕。

19 聽啊!我同胞(“同胞”原文作“人民的女子”)的呼救聲,

從遙遠之地傳來:

“耶和華不在錫安嗎?

錫安的王不在其中嗎?”

“他們為甚麼以自己雕刻的偶像,

和列國虛無的偶像,來惹我發怒呢?”

20 “收割期已過,夏天也結束;

但我們仍未獲救。”

21 因著我的同胞(“同胞”原文作“人民的女子”)被壓碎,我的心破碎了;

我悲傷痛哭,驚慌抓住了我。

22 難道基列沒有乳香嗎?

難道那裡沒有醫生嗎?

我的同胞(“同胞”原文作“人民的女子”)為甚麼總不痊愈呢?

“‘At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones(A) of the people of Jerusalem will be removed(B) from their graves. They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served(C) and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped.(D) They will not be gathered up or buried,(E) but will be like dung lying on the ground.(F) Wherever I banish them,(G) all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life,(H) declares the Lord Almighty.’

Sin and Punishment

“Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘When people fall down, do they not get up?(I)
    When someone turns away,(J) do they not return?
Why then have these people turned away?
    Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;(K)
    they refuse to return.(L)
I have listened(M) attentively,
    but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent(N) of their wickedness,
    saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course(O)
    like a horse charging into battle.
Even the stork in the sky
    knows her appointed seasons,
and the dove, the swift and the thrush
    observe the time of their migration.
But my people do not know(P)
    the requirements of the Lord.

“‘How can you say, “We are wise,
    for we have the law(Q) of the Lord,”
when actually the lying pen of the scribes
    has handled it falsely?
The wise(R) will be put to shame;
    they will be dismayed(S) and trapped.(T)
Since they have rejected the word(U) of the Lord,
    what kind of wisdom(V) do they have?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men
    and their fields to new owners.(W)
From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;(X)
prophets(Y) and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.(Z)
11 They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
    when there is no peace.(AA)
12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame(AB) at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when they are punished,(AC)
says the Lord.(AD)

13 “‘I will take away their harvest,
declares the Lord.
    There will be no grapes on the vine.(AE)
There will be no figs(AF) on the tree,
    and their leaves will wither.(AG)
What I have given them
    will be taken(AH) from them.[a]’”

14 Why are we sitting here?
    Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities(AI)
    and perish there!
For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
    and given us poisoned water(AJ) to drink,
    because we have sinned(AK) against him.
15 We hoped for peace(AL)
    but no good has come,
for a time of healing
    but there is only terror.(AM)
16 The snorting of the enemy’s horses(AN)
    is heard from Dan;(AO)
at the neighing of their stallions
    the whole land trembles.(AP)
They have come to devour(AQ)
    the land and everything in it,
    the city and all who live there.

17 “See, I will send venomous snakes(AR) among you,
    vipers that cannot be charmed,(AS)
    and they will bite you,”
declares the Lord.

18 You who are my Comforter[b] in sorrow,
    my heart is faint(AT) within me.
19 Listen to the cry of my people
    from a land far away:(AU)
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
    Is her King(AV) no longer there?”

“Why have they aroused(AW) my anger with their images,
    with their worthless(AX) foreign idols?”(AY)

20 “The harvest is past,
    the summer has ended,
    and we are not saved.”

21 Since my people are crushed,(AZ) I am crushed;
    I mourn,(BA) and horror grips me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?(BB)
    Is there no physician(BC) there?
Why then is there no healing(BD)
    for the wound of my people?

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  2. Jeremiah 8:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

“At that time,” says Adonai, “[these enemies] will remove the bones of the kings of Y’hudah, the bones of his princes, the bones of the cohanim, the bones of the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Yerushalayim from their graves. They will spread them out, exposed to the sun, the moon and the entire army of heaven, whom they loved, served, walked after, sought after and worshipped. The bones will not be collected or reburied but will be left lying on the ground like dung. All the survivors of this evil family who remain wherever I have driven them will prefer death to life,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. “You are to tell them that Adonai says:

‘If a person falls, doesn’t he get up again?
If someone goes astray, doesn’t he turn back?
Why do these people keep backsliding?
Why is their backsliding so persistent?
They cling to deceit and refuse to return!
I listened attentively but they spoke nothing right.
No one repents of his wickedness,
saying, “What have I done!”
Each runs off in his own direction,
like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
Storks in the sky know their seasons;
doves, swallows and cranes their migration times;
but my people do not know
the rulings of Adonai!

“‘How can you say, “We are wise;
Adonai’s Torah is with us,”
when in fact the lying pen of the scribes
has turned it into falsehood?
The wise are put to shame,
alarmed, entrapped.
They have rejected the word of Adonai,
so what wisdom do they have?

10 “‘Therefore I will give their wives to others,
and their fields to those who take them over;
for from the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gains;
prophets and cohanim alike
all practice fraud —
11 they dress the wound of the daughter of my people,
but only superficially,
saying, “There is perfect shalom,”
when there is no shalom.
12 They should be ashamed
of their detestable deeds,
but they are not ashamed at all,
they don’t know how to blush.
So when others fall, they too will fall;
when I punish them, they will stumble,’

says Adonai.

13 “‘I will put an end to them,’ says Adonai.
‘There are no grapes on the vine,
and no figs on the fig tree;
the leaf has withered; and what I have given them
will pass from their possession.’”

14 “Why are we sitting still? Assemble!
Let’s enter the fortified cities
and meet our doom there!
For Adonai our God has doomed us;
he has given us bitter water to drink,
because we have sinned against Adonai.
15 When we look for peace, nothing good comes;
when we seek a time of healing, instead there is terror.”

16 From Dan can be heard the snorting of his horses;
when his stallions neigh, the whole land trembles.
For they come devouring the land and all in it,
the city and those who dwell there.
17 “Yes, now I am sending snakes among you,
vipers that no one can charm,
and they will bite you,” says Adonai.

18 My grief has no cure, I am sick at heart.
19 Listen to my people’s cry of distress
out of a distant land:
“Is Adonai no longer in Tziyon?
Is her king no longer there?”

“Why do they provoke me with their idols
and their futile foreign gods?”

20 “The harvest has passed, the summer is over,
and still we are not saved.”

21 The daughter of my people is broken,
and it’s tearing me to pieces;
everything looks dark to me,
horror seizes me.
22 Has Gil‘ad exhausted its healing resin?
Is no physician there?
If there is, then why is the daughter of my people
so slow to recover her health?
23 (9:1) I wish my head were made of water
and my eyes were a fountain of tears,
so that I could cry day and night
over the slain of the daughter of my people!