Jeremiah 8

1 At that time, saith Yhwh, 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:

When that happens, 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 taken out of their graves.

2 And 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.

They will lie exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the stars which they loved, which they served, which they followed, which they consulted, and which they worshiped. Their bones will not be collected or reburied, but will be left like manure lying on the ground.

3 And 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 Yhwh of Armies.

Those who are left of this evil family will prefer to die rather than live in every place I've scattered them, declares the Lord Almighty.

4 Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Yhwh; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?

Tell them this is what the Lord says: When people fall down, don't they get up again? When people go the wrong way, don't they turn around?

5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

So why have these people of Jerusalem gone the wrong way? Why do they refuse to turn around from their repeated betrayals, holding on to all their lies?

6 I 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.

I've heard exactly what they said, but they don't tell the truth. No one is sorry for doing wrong, asking, “What have I done?” Everyone chooses their own way, like a horse charging into battle.

7 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtledove and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of Yhwh.

Even storks high in the sky know when it's time to migrate. Turtledoves, swifts, and songbirds know when to fly away at the right time of the year. But my people don't know the laws of the Lord.

8 How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of Yhwh is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.

How on earth can you say, “We're wise, and we have the Law of the Lord?” Can't you see that the writings of your teachers of the Law have turned it into lies?

9 The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of Yhwh; and what wisdom is in them?

The wise will be shown to be foolish; they will be shocked at being caught out. Can't you see that they've rejected what the Lord says—so do they have any wisdom at all?

10 Therefore 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.

I'm going to give their wives to others, and their fields to different owners, since everyone cheats because they're greedy, poor and rich alike. Even prophets and priests—they are all dishonest liars!

11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

They give my wounded people first aid, but they don't really care about them. They tell them, “Don't worry! We have peace!” even as war approaches.

12 Were 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 Yhwh.

Are they ashamed of the disgusting things they did? No, they're not ashamed at all, they can't even blush. So they will fall just like the others, when I punish them; they will drop down dead, says the Lord.

13 I will surely consume them, saith Yhwh: 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.

I'm going to destroy them, declares the Lord. There will be no grapes left on the vines, no figs on the trees—even the leaves will wither. They will lose whatever I gave them.

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

The people say, “Why are we sitting around here? Let's get together and run to the fortified towns. We can die there, for the Lord our God is killing us by giving us poisoned water to drink, because we sinned against him.

15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!

We hoped for peace, but instead nothing good has come; we hoped for a time of healing, but instead there was only sudden terror.”

16 The 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.

The snorting of enemy horses can be heard from Dan. The whole country shakes in fear at the sound of the neighing of these strong stallions, They have come to destroy the country and everything in it; Jerusalem and everyone who lives there.

17 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith Yhwh.

Watch out! I'm sending snakes among you, vipers that can't be charmed. They will come and bite you, declares the Lord.

18 When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.

Nothing comforts me in my suffering; I feel terrible inside.

19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not Yhwh in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?

Listen to my people crying out for help from a distant land, asking “Isn't the Lord present in Zion anymore? Has her King left?” Why have they made me angry, worshiping their carved images and their useless foreign idols?

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

“The harvest is over, the summer is finished, but we're not saved,” say the people.

21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.

I'm crushed by the injuries suffered by my people; I mourn for them. I'm horrified at what's happened!

22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

Isn't there any ointment from Gilead to help heal them? Aren't there any doctors there? So why haven't my people been healed from their wounds?