Jeremiah 8:18-9:2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Prophet Mourns for the People
18 My joy is gone; grief is upon me;
my heart is sick.
19 Listen! The cry of the daughter of my people
from far and wide in the land:
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?”
(“Why have they provoked me to anger with their images,
with their foreign idols?”)(A)
20 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”
21 For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken,
I mourn, and horror has seized me.(B)
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?(C)
9 [a]O that my head were a spring of water
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
so that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people!(D)
2 [b]O that I had in the desert
a traveler’s lodging place,
that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
For they are all adulterers,
a band of traitors.(E)
Jeremiah 8:18-9:2
International Standard Version
Jeremiah Mourns for His People
18 Incurable sorrow has overwhelmed me,
my heart is sick within me.
19 Listen! My people[a] cry
from a distant land:
“Is the Lord no longer in Zion?
Is her king no longer there?”
The Lord Speaks
“Why did they provoke me to anger with their images,
with their worthless foreign gods?”
The People Speak
20 The harvest is past,
the summer has ended,
and we haven’t been delivered.
The Prophet Mourns
21 Because my people[b] are crushed, I’m crushed.
I mourn, and dismay overwhelms me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
So why is there no healing for my people?[c]
The Lord’s Sorrow for His People
9 [d]“Oh, that my head were a spring of water,[e]
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
for then I would cry day and night for those
of my people[f] who have been killed.
2 Oh, that I had a lodging place for travelers in the desert,
so that I could leave my people
and go away from them.
For all of them are adulterers,
a band of traitors.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 8:19 Lit. the daughter of my people
- Jeremiah 8:21 Lit. the daughter of my people
- Jeremiah 8:22 Lit. daughter of my people
- Jeremiah 9:1 Because this verse is 8:23 in MT, there is a one verse discrepancy between MT and the ISV throughout this chapter.
- Jeremiah 9:1 Lit. were waters
- Jeremiah 9:1 Lit. for the daughter of my people
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