Jeremiah 8

1 At that time, saith the Lord, they shall cast out the bones of the kings of Juda, and the bones of the princes thereof, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves.

“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.

2 And they shall spread them abroad to 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 adored: they shall not be gathered, and they shall not be buried: they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth.

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.

3 And death shall be chosen rather than life by all that shall remain of this wicked kindred in all places, which are left, to which I have cast them out, saith the Lord of hosts.

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

4 And thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord: Shall not he that falleth, rise again? and he that is turned away, shall he not turn again?

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?

5 Why then is this people in Jerusalem turned away with a stubborn revolting? they have laid hold on lying, and have refused to return.

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

6 I attended, and hearkened; no man speaketh what is good, there is none that doth penance for his sin, saying: What have I done? They are all turned to their own course, as a horse rushing to the battle.

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.

7 The kite in the air hath known her time: the turtle, and the swallow, and the stork have observed the time of their coming: but my people have not known the judgment of the Lord.

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.

8 How do you say: We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Indeed the lying pen of the scribes hath wrought falsehood.

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?

9 The wise men are confounded, they are dismayed, and taken: for they have cast away the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them.

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?

10 Therefore I will give their women to strangers, their fields to others for an inheritance: because from the least even to the greatest all follow covetousness: from the prophet even to the priest, all deal deceitfully.

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.

11 And they healed the breach of the daughter of my people disgracefully, saying Peace, peace: when there was no peace.

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

12 They are confounded, because they have committed abomination: yea rather they are not confounded with confusion, and they have not know how to blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall; in the time of their visitation they shall fall, saith the Lord.

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.

13 Gathering I will gather them together, saith the Lord, there is no grape on the vines, and there are no figs on the fig tree, the leaf is fallen: and I have given them the things that are passed away.

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.”

14 Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fenced city, and let us be silent there: for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and hath given us water of gall to drink: for we have sinned against the Lord.

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.

15 We looked for peace and no good came: for a time of healing, and behold fear.

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

16 The snorting of his horse was heard from Dan, all the land was moved at the sound of the neighing of his warriors: and they came and devoured the land, and all that was in it: the city and its inhabitants.

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.

17 For behold I will send among you serpents, basilisks, against which there is no charm: and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.

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

18 My sorrow is above sorrow, my heart mourneth within me.

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

19 Behold the voice of the daughter my people from a far country: Is not the Lord in Sion, or is not her king in her? why then have they provoked me to wrath with their idols, and strange vanities?

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?”

20 The harvest is passed, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

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

21 For the affliction of the daughter of my people I am afflicted, and made sorrowful, astonishment hath taken hold on me.

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

22 Is there no balm in Galaad? or is no physician there? Why then is not the wound of the daughter of my people closed?

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