“‘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?

[c]Oh, that my head were a spring of water
    and my eyes a fountain of tears!(BE)
I would weep(BF) day and night
    for the slain of my people.(BG)
Oh, that I had in the desert(BH)
    a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
    and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,(BI)
    a crowd of unfaithful(BJ) people.

“They make ready their tongue
    like a bow, to shoot lies;(BK)
it is not by truth
    that they triumph[d] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
    they do not acknowledge(BL) me,”
declares the Lord.
“Beware of your friends;(BM)
    do not trust anyone in your clan.(BN)
For every one of them is a deceiver,[e](BO)
    and every friend a slanderer.(BP)
Friend deceives friend,(BQ)
    and no one speaks the truth.(BR)
They have taught their tongues to lie;(BS)
    they weary themselves with sinning.
You[f] live in the midst of deception;(BT)
    in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.

Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refine(BU) and test(BV) them,
    for what else can I do
    because of the sin of my people?
Their tongue(BW) is a deadly arrow;
    it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,(BX)
    but in their hearts they set traps(BY) for them.(BZ)
Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(CA) myself
    on such a nation as this?”

10 I will weep and wail for the mountains
    and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.(CB)
They are desolate and untraveled,
    and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
The birds(CC) have all fled
    and the animals are gone.

11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap(CD) of ruins,
    a haunt of jackals;(CE)
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah(CF)
    so no one can live there.”(CG)

12 Who is wise(CH) enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?

13 The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law.(CI) 14 Instead, they have followed(CJ) the stubbornness of their hearts;(CK) they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” 15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food(CL) and drink poisoned water.(CM) 16 I will scatter them among nations(CN) that neither they nor their ancestors have known,(CO) and I will pursue them with the sword(CP) until I have made an end of them.”(CQ)

17 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Consider now! Call for the wailing women(CR) to come;
    send for the most skillful of them.
18 Let them come quickly
    and wail over us
till our eyes overflow with tears
    and water streams from our eyelids.(CS)
19 The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
    ‘How ruined(CT) we are!
    How great is our shame!
We must leave our land
    because our houses are in ruins.’”

20 Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;
    open your ears to the words of his mouth.(CU)
Teach your daughters how to wail;
    teach one another a lament.(CV)
21 Death has climbed in through our windows(CW)
    and has entered our fortresses;
it has removed the children from the streets
    and the young men(CX) from the public squares.

22 Say, “This is what the Lord declares:

“‘Dead bodies will lie
    like dung(CY) on the open field,
like cut grain behind the reaper,
    with no one to gather them.’”

23 This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom(CZ)
    or the strong boast of their strength(DA)
    or the rich boast of their riches,(DB)
24 but let the one who boasts boast(DC) about this:
    that they have the understanding to know(DD) me,
that I am the Lord,(DE) who exercises kindness,(DF)
    justice and righteousness(DG) on earth,
    for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

25 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh(DH) 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.[g](DI) For all these nations are really uncircumcised,(DJ) and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.(DK)

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.
  3. Jeremiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-26 is numbered 9:1-25.
  4. Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
  5. Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
  6. Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)
  7. Jeremiah 9:26 Or wilderness and who clip the hair by their foreheads

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