Jeremiah 8

1 “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.

“At that time—this is Yahweh's declaration—they will bring out from the graves the bones of the kings of Judah and its officials, the bones of the priests and the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

2 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.

Then they will spread them out in the light of the sun and moon and all the stars of the skies; these things in the sky that they have followed and served, that they have walked after and sought, and that they have worshiped. The bones will not be gathered or buried again. They will be like dung on the surface of the earth.

3 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.

In every remaining place where I have driven them, they will choose death instead of life for themselves, all who are still left over from this evil nation—this is the declaration of Yahweh of hosts.

4 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?

So say to them, 'Yahweh says this: Does anyone fall and not get up? Does anyone get lost and not try to return?

5 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.

Why has this people, Jerusalem, turned away in permanent faithlessness? They hold on to treachery and refuse to repent.

6 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.

I paid attention and listened, but they did not speak right; no one was sorry for his wickedness, no one who says, “What have I done?” All of them go where they wish, like a stallion rushing toward battle.

7 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.

Even the stork in heaven knows the right times; and the doves, swifts, and cranes. They go on their migrations at the right time, but my people do not know Yahweh's decrees.

8 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.

How can you say, “We are wise, for the law of Yahweh is with us”? Indeed, see! The deceitful pen of the scribes has created deceit.

9 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.

The wise men will be ashamed. They are dismayed and trapped. Behold! They reject Yahweh's word, so what use is their wisdom?

10 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.

So I will give their wives to others, and their fields to those who will possess them, because from the least to the greatest, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain! From the prophet to the priest, all of them practice deceit.

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

They healed the wounds of my people lightly, saying, “Peace, Peace,” when there was no peace.

12 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.

Were they ashamed when they practiced abominations? They were not ashamed; they did not know how to blush! So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says Yahweh.

13 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.”

I will remove them completely—this is Yahweh's declaration—there will be no grapes on the vine, nor will there be figs on the fig trees. For the leaf will wither, and what I have given to them will pass away.

14 “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.

Why are we sitting here? Come together; let us go to the fortified cities, and we will become silent there in death. For Yahweh our God will silence us. He will make us drink poison, since we have sinned against him.

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

We are hoping for peace, but there will be nothing good. We are hoping for a time of healing, but see, there will be terror.

16 “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.

The snorting of his stallions is heard from Dan. The whole earth shakes at the sound of the neighing of his strong horses. For they will come and consume the land and its wealth, the city and the ones living in it.

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

For see, I am sending out snakes among you, vipers that you cannot charm. They will bite you—this is Yahweh's declaration.'”

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

My sorrow has no end, and my heart is sick.

19 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?

Behold! The screaming voice of the daughter of my people from a land far away! Is Yahweh not in Zion? Is her king no longer there? Why then do they provoke me to anger with their carved figures and their worthless foreign idols?

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

The harvest has passed on, summer is over. But we have not been saved.

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

I am hurt because of the hurt of the daughter of my people. I mourn at the horrible things that have happened to her; I am dismayed.

22 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?”

Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no healer there? Why will the healing of the daughter of my people not happen?