Why then has this people (A)turned away
    in perpetual (B)backsliding?
(C)They hold fast to deceit;
    they refuse to return.
(D)I have paid attention and listened,
    but they have not spoken rightly;
no man relents of his evil,
    saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turns to his own course,
    (E)like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
Even the stork in the heavens
    knows her times,
and (F)the turtledove, (G)swallow, and crane[a]
    keep the time of their coming,
(H)but my people know not
    the rules[b] of the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 8:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
  2. Jeremiah 8:7 Or just decrees

Why then have these people turned away?
    Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;(A)
    they refuse to return.(B)
I have listened(C) attentively,
    but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent(D) of their wickedness,
    saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course(E)
    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(F)
    the requirements of the Lord.

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