Jeremiah 8:4-13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Blind Perversity of the Whole Nation
4 You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord:
When people fall, do they not get up again?
If they go astray, do they not turn back?(A)
5 Why then has this people[a] turned away
in perpetual faithlessness?
They have held fast to deceit;
they have refused to return.(B)
6 I have given heed and listened,
but they do not speak honestly;
no one repents of wickedness,
saying, “What have I done!”
All of them turn to their own course
like a horse plunging headlong into battle.(C)
7 Even the stork in the heavens
knows its times,
and the turtledove, swallow, and crane[b]
observe the time of their coming,
but my people do not know
the ordinance of the Lord.(D)
8 How can you say, “We are wise,
and the law of the Lord is with us,”
when, in fact, the false pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie?(E)
9 The wise shall be put to shame;
they shall be dismayed and taken;
since they have rejected the word of the Lord,
what wisdom is in them?(F)
10 Therefore I will give their wives to others
and their fields to conquerors,
because from the least to the greatest
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.(G)
11 They have treated the wound of the daughter of my people carelessly,
saying, “Peace, peace,”
when there is no peace.(H)
12 They acted shamefully; they committed abomination,
yet they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time when I punish them, they shall be overthrown,
says the Lord.(I)
13 I will surely gather them,[c] says the Lord;
there are no grapes on the vine
nor figs on the fig tree;
even the leaves are withered,
and what I gave them has passed away from them.[d](J)
Jeremiah 8:4-13
New International Version
Sin and Punishment
4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘When people fall down, do they not get up?(A)
When someone turns away,(B) do they not return?
5 Why then have these people turned away?
Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;(C)
they refuse to return.(D)
6 I have listened(E) attentively,
but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent(F) of their wickedness,
saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course(G)
like a horse charging into battle.
7 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(H)
the requirements of the Lord.
8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise,
for we have the law(I) of the Lord,”
when actually the lying pen of the scribes
has handled it falsely?
9 The wise(J) will be put to shame;
they will be dismayed(K) and trapped.(L)
Since they have rejected the word(M) of the Lord,
what kind of wisdom(N) do they have?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men
and their fields to new owners.(O)
From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;(P)
prophets(Q) and priests alike,
all practice deceit.(R)
11 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
when there is no peace.(S)
12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame(T) 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,(U)
says the Lord.(V)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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