Jeremiah 8
New American Standard Bible
The Sin and Treachery of Judah
8 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “they will (A)bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its leaders, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves. 2 They will spread them out to the sun, the moon, and to all the (B)heavenly [a]lights, which they have loved, which they have served, which they have followed, which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered (C)nor buried; (D)they will be like dung on the face of the ground. 3 And (E)death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the (F)places to which I have driven them,” declares the Lord of armies.
4 “You shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“Do people (G)fall and not get up?
Does one turn away and not [b]repent?
5 Why has this people, Jerusalem,
(H)Turned away in continual apostasy?
They (I)hold on to deceit,
They (J)refuse to return.
6 I (K)have listened and heard,
They have spoken what is not right;
(L)No one repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his own course,
Like a (M)horse charging into the battle.
7 Even the stork in the sky
(N)Knows her seasons;
And the (O)turtledove, the swallow, and the crane
Keep to the time of their [c]migration;
But (P)My people do not know
The judgment of the Lord.
8 “(Q)How can you say, ‘We are wise,
And the Law of the Lord is with us’?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
Has made it into a lie.
9 The wise men are (R)put to shame,
They are dismayed and caught;
Behold, they have (S)rejected the word of the Lord,
So what kind of wisdom do they have?
10 Therefore I will (T)give their wives to others,
Their fields to new owners;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is (U)greedy for gain;
From the prophet even to the priest,
Everyone practices deceit.
11 They have (V)healed the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
12 Were they (W)ashamed because of the abomination they had done?
They were not ashamed at all,
And they did not know how to be ashamed;
Therefore they will (X)fall among those who fall;
At the (Y)time of their punishment they will collapse,”
Says the Lord.
13 “I will (Z)certainly snatch them away,” declares the Lord.
“There will be (AA)no grapes on the vine
And (AB)no figs on the fig tree,
And the leaf will wither;
And what I have given them will pass away.”’”
14 Why are we sitting still?
(AC)Assemble yourselves, and let’s (AD)go into the fortified cities
And perish there,
For the Lord our God has doomed us
And given us (AE)poisoned water to drink,
Because (AF)we have sinned against the Lord.
15 We (AG)waited for peace, but no good came;
For a time of healing, but behold, terror!
16 From (AH)Dan there is heard the snorting of his horses;
At the sound of the neighing of his (AI)stallions
The whole land quakes;
For they come and (AJ)devour the land and its fullness,
The city and its inhabitants.
17 “For behold, I am (AK)sending serpents among you,
Vipers for which there is (AL)no charm;
And they will bite you,” declares the Lord.
18 [d]My (AM)sorrow is beyond healing,
My (AN)heart is faint within me!
19 Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a (AO)distant land:
“Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not within her?”
“Why have they (AP)provoked Me with their carved images, with foreign [e](AQ)idols?”
20 “Harvest is past, summer is over,
And we are not saved.”
21 I am broken over the (AR)brokenness of the daughter of my people.
I (AS)mourn, dismay has taken hold of me.
22 Is there no (AT)balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
(AU)Why then has not the [f]health of the daughter of my people [g]been restored?
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 8:2 Lit host
- Jeremiah 8:4 Lit turn back
- Jeremiah 8:7 Lit coming
- Jeremiah 8:18 As in LXX and ancient versions
- Jeremiah 8:19 Lit futilities
- Jeremiah 8:22 Or healing
- Jeremiah 8:22 Lit gone up
Jeremiah 8
Revised Standard Version
8 “At that time, says the Lord, the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs; 2 and they shall be spread before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, which they have gone after, and which they have sought and worshiped; and they shall not be gathered or buried; they shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. 3 Death shall be preferred to life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family in all the places where I have driven them, says the Lord of hosts.
The Blind Perversity of the Whole Nation
4 “You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord:
When men fall, do they not rise again?
If one turns away, does he not return?
5 Why then has this people turned away
in perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast to deceit,
they refuse to return.
6 I have given heed and listened,
but they have not spoken aright;
no man repents of his wickedness,
saying, ‘What have I done?’
Every one turns to his own course,
like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
7 Even the stork in the heavens
knows her times;
and the turtledove, swallow, and crane[a]
keep the time of their coming;
but my people know not
the ordinance of the Lord.
8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise,
and the law of the Lord is with us’?
But behold, the false pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie.
9 The wise men shall be put to shame,
they shall be dismayed and taken;
lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord,
and what wisdom is in them?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to others
and their fields to conquerors,
because from the least to the greatest
every one is greedy for unjust gain;
from prophet to priest
every one deals falsely.
11 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among the fallen;
when I punish them, they shall be overthrown,
says the Lord.
13 When I would gather them, 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.”[b]
14 Why do we sit still?
Gather together, let us go into the fortified cities
and perish there;
for the Lord our God has doomed us to perish,
and has given us poisoned water to drink,
because we have sinned against the Lord.
15 We looked for peace, but no good came,
for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
16 “The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan;
at the sound of the neighing of their stallions
the whole land quakes.
They come and devour the land and all that fills it,
the city and those who dwell in it.
17 For behold, I am sending among you serpents,
adders which cannot be charmed,
and they shall bite you,”
says the Lord.
The Prophet Mourns for the People
18 My grief is beyond healing,[c]
my heart is sick within me.
19 Hark, the cry of the daughter of my people
from the length and breadth of the land:
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?”
“Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images,
and with their foreign idols?”
20 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”
21 For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded,
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of the daughter of my people
not been restored?
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 8:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Jeremiah 8:13 Heb uncertain
- Jeremiah 8:18 Cn: Compare Gk: Heb uncertain
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.