Sin and Punishment

“Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

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

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Deception by False Prophets

“Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again?
    When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back?
Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path?
    Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back?
They cling tightly to their lies
    and will not turn around.
I listen to their conversations
    and don’t hear a word of truth.
Is anyone sorry for doing wrong?
    Does anyone say, “What a terrible thing I have done”?
No! All are running down the path of sin
    as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle!
Even the stork that flies across the sky
    knows the time of her migration,
as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane.[a]
    They all return at the proper time each year.
But not my people!
    They do not know the Lord’s laws.

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Footnotes

  1. 8:7 The identification of some of these birds is uncertain.