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.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

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

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

Do people fall and not get up again?(A)
If they turn away, do they not return?
Why have these people turned away?
Why is Jerusalem always turning away?
They take hold of deceit;(B)
they refuse to return.(C)
I have paid careful attention.
They do not speak what is right.
No one regrets his evil,
asking, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone has stayed his course
like a horse rushing into battle.(D)
Even the stork in the sky
knows her seasons.
The turtledove, swallow, and crane[a]
are aware of their migration,
but My people do not know
the requirements of the Lord.(E)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 8:7 Hb obscure