1“At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs.2And they shall be spread before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, which they have gone after, and which they have sought and worshiped. And they shall not be gathered or buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. (De 4:19; 2Ki 21:3; 2Ki 23:5; Job 27:19; Job 31:26; Jer 9:22; Jer 16:4; Jer 25:33; Eze 8:16)3Death shall be preferred to life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family in all the places where I have driven them, declares the Lord of hosts. (Job 3:21; Job 7:15; Jer 23:3; Jer 23:8; Jer 29:14; Jer 29:18; Jer 32:37; Da 9:7; Re 9:6)
Sin and Treachery
4“You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does he not return? (Ro 11:11)5Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return. (Jer 2:19; Jer 7:24; Jer 9:6)6I 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, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. (Job 39:19; 2Pe 3:9)7Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane[1] keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules[2] of the Lord. (So 2:12; Isa 1:3; Isa 38:14; Jer 5:4)8“How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie. (Ro 2:17)9The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them? (Job 5:13; 1Co 1:19)10Therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields to conquerors, because from the least to the greatest everyone is greedy for unjust gain; from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. (Isa 56:11; Jer 6:12)11They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. (Jer 8:21)12Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the Lord. (Jer 3:3; Ho 4:5)13When I would gather them, declares the Lord, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered, and what I gave them has passed away from them.”[3] (Isa 1:30; Isa 5:1; Joe 1:7; Mt 21:19; Lu 13:6)14Why do we sit still? Gather together; let us go into the fortified cities and perish there, for the Lord our God has doomed us to perish and has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord. (De 29:18; Jer 4:5; Jer 9:15; Jer 23:15; La 3:15; La 3:19; Am 6:12; Re 8:11)15We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror. (Job 30:26; Jer 14:19)16“The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan; at the sound of the neighing of their stallions the whole land quakes. They come and devour the land and all that fills it, the city and those who dwell in it. (Jud 5:22; Job 39:20; Ps 60:2; Jer 4:15; Jer 10:25; Jer 47:2; Jer 49:21; Jer 51:29)17For behold, I am sending among you serpents, adders that cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you,” declares the Lord. (Le 26:22; Nu 21:6; Ps 58:4; Ec 10:11)
Jeremiah Grieves for His People
18My joy is gone; grief is upon me;[4] my heart is sick within me. (Isa 1:5; La 1:13; La 1:22; La 5:17)19Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people from the length and breadth of the land: “Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not in her?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images and with their foreign idols?” (De 32:21; Isa 33:17; Isa 39:3)20“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”21For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded; I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me. (Job 30:30; Jer 8:11; Jer 14:17; La 4:8; Joe 2:6; Na 2:10)22Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored? (Ge 37:25; Jer 46:11)
Jeremiah 8
New International Version
1‘ “At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves.2They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshipped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground.3Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the Lord Almighty.”
Sin and punishment
4‘Say to them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘ “When people fall down, do they not get up? When someone turns away, do they not return?5Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.6I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle.7Even 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 the requirements of the Lord.8‘ “How can you say, ‘We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,’ when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?9The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?10Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practise deceit.11They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.12Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says the Lord.13‘ “I will take away their harvest, declares the Lord. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them.[1]” ’14Why are we sitting here? Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him.15We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror.16The snorting of the enemy’s horses is heard from Dan; at the neighing of their stallions the whole land trembles. They have come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who live there.17‘See, I will send venomous snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,’ declares the Lord.18You who are my Comforter[2] in sorrow, my heart is faint within me.19Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: ‘Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King no longer there?’ ‘Why have they aroused my anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?’20‘The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.’21Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me.22Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?
Jeremiah 8
King James Version
1At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:2And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.3And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.4Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?5Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.6I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.7Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.8How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it ; the pen of the scribes is in vain.9The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?10Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them : for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.11For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.12Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.13I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.14Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.15We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!16The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.17For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.18When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.19Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?20The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.21For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.22Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
Jeremiah 8
New International Reader’s Version
1‘At that time the tombs will be opened,’ announces the LORD. ‘The bones of the kings and officials of Judah will be brought out. The bones of the priests and prophets will be removed. So will the bones of the people of Jerusalem.2They will lie outside under the sun, moon and all the stars. All these people had loved and served these things. They had followed them and worshipped them. They had asked them for advice. So the bones of these people will not be gathered up or buried again. Instead, they will be like human waste lying there on the ground.3Everyone left alive in this evil nation will want to die rather than live. That is what they will long for in the lands where I force them to go.’ The LORD who rules over all announces this.
The Lord punishes his sinful people
4‘Jeremiah, tell them, “The LORD says, ‘ “ ‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When someone turns away, don’t they come back?5Then why have the people of Jerusalem turned away from me? Why do they always turn away? They keep on telling lies. They refuse to come back to me.6I have listened carefully. But they do not say what is right. They refuse to turn away from their sins. None of them says, “What have I done?” Each of them goes their own way. They are like horses charging into battle.7Storks know when to fly south. So do doves, swifts and thrushes. But my people do not know what I require them to do.8‘ “ ‘How can you people say, “We are wise. We have the law of the LORD”? Actually, the teachers of the law have told lies about it. Their pens have not written what is true.9Those who think they are wise will be put to shame. They will become terrified. They will be trapped. They have not accepted my message. So what kind of wisdom do they have?10I will give their wives to other men. I will give their fields to new owners. Everyone wants to get richer and richer. Everyone is greedy, from the least important to the most important. Prophets and priests alike try to fool everyone they can.11They bandage the wounds of my people as if they were not very deep. “Peace, peace,” they say. But there isn’t any peace.12Are they ashamed of their hateful actions? No. They do not feel any shame at all. They do not even know how to blush. So they will fall like others who have already fallen. They will be brought down when I punish them,’ says the LORD.13‘ “ ‘I will take away their harvest,’ announces the LORD. ‘There will not be any grapes on the vines. The trees will not bear any figs. The leaves on the trees will dry up. What I have given my people will be taken away from them.’ ” ’14Why are we sitting here? Let’s gather together! Let’s run to the cities that have high walls around them! Let’s die there! The LORD our God has sentenced us to death. He has given us poisoned water to drink. That’s because we’ve sinned against him.15We hoped peace would come. But nothing good has happened to us. We hoped we would finally be healed. But there is only terror.16When our enemy’s horses snort, the noise is heard all the way from the city of Dan. When their stallions neigh, the whole land trembles with fear. They have come to destroy the land and everything in it. The city and everyone who lives there will be destroyed.17‘People of Judah, I will send poisonous snakes among you. No one will be able to charm them. And they will bite you,’ announces the LORD.18LORD, my heart is weak inside me. You comfort me when I’m sad.19Listen to the cries of my people from a land far away. They cry out, ‘Isn’t the LORD in Zion? Isn’t its King there anymore?’ The LORD says, ‘Why have they made me so angry by worshipping their wooden gods? Why have they made me angry with their worthless statues of gods from other lands?’20The people say, ‘The harvest is over. The summer has ended. And we still haven’t been saved.’21My people are crushed, so I am crushed. I mourn, and I am filled with horror.22Isn’t there any healing lotion in Gilead? Isn’t there a doctor there? Then why doesn’t someone heal the wounds of my people?