Add parallel Print Page Options

A Stubborn People

“You are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“Will a person fall down and then not get up?
    Will someone turn away[a] and then not turn back again?[b]
Why has this people turned away?[c]
    Why does Jerusalem continue in apostasy?
        They hold on to deceit and refuse to repent.
I’ve listened and I’ve heard,
    and what they say is not right.
No one repents of his evil and says,
    ‘What have I done?’
“They all turn to their own course
    like a horse racing into battle.
Even the stork in the sky knows its seasons,
    and the dove, the swallow, and the crane observe the time for migration.
But my people don’t know
    the requirements[d] of the Lord.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 8:4 Or repent
  2. Jeremiah 8:4 Or not repent
  3. Jeremiah 8:5 Lit. people committed apostasy
  4. Jeremiah 8:7 I.e. the behavior God expects of his people

Yahweh Questions His People

“And you shall say to them, ‘Thus asks[a] Yahweh:

“Do men fall and not stand up?
    If one turns away does he not return?
Why has this people, Jerusalem, turned away in enduring apostasy?
    They have kept hold of deceit, they have refused to return.[b]
I have listened attentively,
    and I have listened.
They do not speak honestly,
    there is no man who regrets his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’
All of them are turning to their ways of running,
    like a horse plunging into battle.
Even the stork in heaven knows its appointed time,
    and the turtledove, and the swallow, and the song bird,
they observe the time of their coming.
    But my people do not know the ordinance[c] of Yahweh.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 8:4 Or “says”
  2. Jeremiah 8:5 Or “repent”
  3. Jeremiah 8:7 Or “law”