Jeremiah 8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 8
1 At that time—oracle of the Lord—the bones of the kings and princes of Judah, the bones of the priests and the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves(A) 2 and spread out before the sun, the moon, and the whole host of heaven,[a] which they loved and served, which they followed, consulted, and worshiped. They will not be gathered up for burial, but will lie like dung upon the ground.(B) 3 Death will be preferred to life by all the survivors of this wicked people who remain in any of the places to which I banish them—oracle of the Lord of hosts.
Israel’s Conduct Incomprehensible
4 Tell them: Thus says the Lord:
When someone falls, do they not rise again?
if they turn away, do they not turn back?
5 Why then do these people resist
with persistent rebellion?
Why do they cling to deception,
refuse to turn back?(C)
6 I have listened closely:
they speak what is not true;
No one regrets wickedness,
saying, “What have I done?”
Everyone keeps on running their course,
like a horse dashing into battle.(D)
7 Even the stork in the sky
knows its seasons;
Turtledove, swift, and thrush
observe the time of their return,
But my people do not know
the order of the Lord.(E)
8 How can you say, “We are wise,(F)
we have the law of the Lord”?
See, that has been changed into falsehood
by the lying pen of the scribes![b]
9 The wise are put to shame,
terrified, and trapped;
Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,
what sort of wisdom do they have?(G)
Shameless in Their Crimes
10 Therefore, I will give their wives to other men,
their fields to new owners.
Small and great alike, all are greedy for gain,
prophet and priest, all practice fraud.(H)
11 They have treated lightly
the injury to the daughter of my people:[c]
“Peace, peace!” they say,
though there is no peace.(I)
12 They have acted shamefully; they have done abominable things,
yet they are not at all ashamed,
they do not know how to blush.
Hence they shall be among those who fall;
in their time of punishment they shall stumble,
says the Lord.(J)
Threats of Punishment
13 I will gather them all in—oracle of the Lord:
no grapes on the vine,
No figs on the fig trees,
foliage withered!
Whatever I have given them is gone.
14 Why do we remain here?
Let us assemble and flee to the fortified cities,
where we will meet our doom;
For the Lord our God has doomed us,
he has given us poisoned water to drink,
because we have sinned against the Lord.(K)
15 We wait for peace to no avail;
for a time of healing, but terror comes instead.(L)
16 From Dan is heard
the snorting of horses;
The neighing of stallions
shakes the whole land.
They come to devour the land and everything in it,
the city and its inhabitants.
17 Yes, I will send against you
poisonous snakes.
Against them no charm will work
when they bite you—oracle of the Lord.(M)
The Prophet’s Grief over the People’s Suffering
18 My joy is gone,
grief is upon me,
my heart is sick.
19 Listen! the cry of the daughter of my people,
far and wide in the land!
“Is the Lord no longer in Zion,
is her King no longer in her midst?”
Why do they provoke me with their idols,
with their foreign nonentities?(N)
20 “The harvest is over, the summer ended,
but we have not yet been saved!”
21 I am broken by the injury of the daughter of my people.
I am in mourning; horror has seized me.(O)
22 Is there no balm in Gilead,[d]
no healer there?
Why does new flesh not grow
over the wound of the daughter of my people?(P)
23 Oh, that my head were a spring of water,
my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
over the slain from the daughter of my people!
Footnotes
- 8:2 Host of heaven: the stars, worshiped by other nations and even by the inhabitants of Jerusalem, particularly during the reigns of Manasseh and Amon.
- 8:8 Lying pen of the scribes: because the teachings and interpretations of the scribes ran counter to the word of the Lord.
- 8:11 Daughter of my people: see note on 4:11.
- 8:22 Gilead: a region southeast of the Sea of Galilee noted for its healing balm.
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
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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