Sin and Treachery

“You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord:
(A)When men fall, do they not rise again?
    If one turns away, does he not return?
Why then has this people (B)turned away
    in perpetual (C)backsliding?
(D)They hold fast to deceit;
    they refuse to return.
(E)I have paid attention and listened,
    but they have not spoken rightly;
no man relents of his evil,
    saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turns to his own course,
    (F)like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
Even the stork in the heavens
    knows her times,
and (G)the turtledove, (H)swallow, and crane[a]
    keep the time of their coming,
(I)but my people know not
    the rules[b] of the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 8:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
  2. Jeremiah 8:7 Or just decrees

Depth of Judah’s wrongdoing

Say to them, The Lord proclaims:
When people fall down, don’t they get up?
    When they turn aside, don’t they turn back?
Why then does this people, rebellious Jerusalem,
    persistently turn away from me?
They cling to deceit
    and refuse to return.
I have listened carefully
    but haven’t heard a word of truth from them.
No one regrets their wrongdoing;
    no one says, “What have I done?”
Everyone turns to their own course,
    like a stallion dashing into the thick of battle.
Even the stork in the sky knows the seasons,
    and the dove, swallow,[a] and crane[b]
        return in due time.
            But my people don’t know the Lord’s ways.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 8:7 Heb uncertain
  2. Jeremiah 8:7 Heb uncertain