Jeremiah 8

1 “At that time,” declares the LORD, “the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of the officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves.

“In that time, says the Lord, they will cast out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its leaders, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of those who were living in Jerusalem, from their graves.

2 They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried, but will become like dung lying on the ground.

And they will spread them out before the sun and the moon and the entire army of the heavens, which they have loved, and served, and followed, and which they have sought and adored. They will not be collected, and they will not be buried. They will be like manure upon the face of the earth.

3 And wherever I have banished them, the remnant of this evil family will choose death over life,” declares the LORD of Hosts.

And they will greatly prefer death to life: all those who will have been left from this wicked kindred, in all the forsaken places to which I will cast them out, says the Lord of hosts.

4 So you are to tell them this is what the LORD says: “Do men fall and not get up again? Does one turn away and not return?

And you will say to them: Thus says the Lord: He who falls, will he not rise again? And he who has been turned away, will he not return?

5 Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.

Then why have this people in Jerusalem turned away with a contentious loathing? They have taken hold of what is false, and they are not willing to return.

6 I have listened and heard; they do not speak what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, asking, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone has pursued his own course like a horse charging into battle.

I paid close attention and I listened carefully. No one is speaking what is good. There is no one who does penance for his sin, saying: ‘What have I done?’ They have all turned to their own course, like a horse rushing with fury into battle.

7 Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the LORD.

The hawk in the heavens has known her time. The turtledove, and the swallow, and the stork have kept the time of their arrival. But my people have not known the judgment of the Lord.

8 How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us,’ when in fact the lying pen of the scribes has produced a deception?

How can you say: ‘We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us?’ Truly, the lying pen of the scribes has wrought falsehood.

9 The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have?

The wise men have been confounded; they were terrified and captured. For they cast aside the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them.

10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.

Because of this, I will give their wives to outsiders and their fields to others as an inheritance. For from the least, even to the greatest, they all pursue avarice; from the prophet, even to the priest, they all act with deceit.

11 They dress the wound of the daughter of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.

And they healed the destruction of the daughter of my people with disgrace, by saying: ‘Peace, peace,’ though there was no peace.

12 Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD.

They have been confounded because they committed abomination. Or rather, they have not been confounded with shame, for they do not know how to blush. For this reason, they will fall among the fallen. In the time of their visitation, they will fall, says the Lord.

13 I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the tree, and even the leaf will wither. Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.”

When gathering, I will gather them together, says the Lord. There are no grapes on the vine, and there are no figs on the fig tree. The leaves have fallen. And I have given them the things that have passed away.”

14 Why are we just sitting here? Gather together, let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has doomed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

“Why are we sitting still? Assemble, and let us enter the fortified city, and let us remain silent there. For the Lord our God has brought us to silence, and he has given us the water of gall as a drink. For we have sinned against the Lord.

15 We hoped for peace, but no good has come, for a time of healing, but there was only terror.

We expected peace, but there was nothing good. We expected a time of health, and behold, dread.”

16 The snorting of enemy horses is heard from Dan. At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds, the whole land quakes. They come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who dwell in it.

“From Dan, the snorting of his horses was heard; the entire land was shaken by the voice of the neighing of his fighters. And they arrived and devoured the land and its plenitude, the city and its inhabitants.

17 “For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,”

For behold, I will send among you serpents, king snakes, against which there is no charm, and they will bite you, says the Lord.

18 My sorrow is beyond healing; my heart is faint within me.

My sorrow is beyond sorrow; my heart mourns within me.

19 Listen to the cry of the daughter of my people from a land far away: “Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her King no longer there?” “Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images, with their worthless foreign idols?”

Behold, the voice of the daughter of my people from a far away land. Is the Lord not with Zion, and is her king not within her? Then why have they provoked me to wrath by their graven images, and by their strange vanities?

20 “The harvest has passed, the summer has ended, but we have not been saved.”

The harvest has passed by, the summer is at an end, and we have not been saved.

21 For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am crushed. I mourn; horror has gripped me.

Over the destruction of the daughter of my people, I am contrite and saddened; astonishment has taken hold of me.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?

Is there no balm in Gilead? Or is there no physician there? Then why has the wound of the daughter of my people not been closed?”