Jeremiah 8

1 At that time, saith the Lord, shall they 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.

“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 shall spread them out before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and to which they have prostrated themselves: they shall not be gathered up, and they shall not be buried; dung upon the face of the ground shall they become.

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 death shall be preferable to life, for all the residue of those that are left of this evil family, who are left in all the places whither I shall have driven them, saith 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 thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, Shall they fall, and not arise? will he turn away, and 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 Why then remaineth this people, Jerusalem, rebellious by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast on deceit, they refuse to return.

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

6 I listened and heard, but they would not speak aright; no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned again to his course, as the impetuous horse in the 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 Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle, and the swallow, atad the crane observe the time of their coming home; but my people know not the ordinance 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 ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Truly, behold in vain wrought the pen, in vain the writers.

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 are ashamed, they are discouraged and caught, lo, the word of the Lord have they rejected; and what wisdom have they [now]?

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

10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, their fields to conquerors; for from the least even unto the greatest, every one is seeking his own gain: from the prophet even unto the priest every one practiseth falsehood.

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 heal the breach of the daughter of my people very lightly, saying, Peace, peace: when there is no peace.

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

12 They should have been ashamed, because they had committed abomination; but they neither felt the least shame, nor did they know how to blush: therefore shall they fall among those that fall; at the time of their punishment shall they stumble, saith 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 I will surely make an end of them, saith the Lord: [there shall be left] no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf shall wither; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.

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 do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us be silent there; for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and given us poison-water to drink; because 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 hoped for peace, but no happiness is here; for a time of cure, and behold here is terror.”

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 was heard the snorting of his horses; at the sound of the neighing of his war-steeds trembleth the whole land: and they are come, and devour the land, and all that filleth it; the city, and those that dwell therein.

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 out against you serpents, basilisks, for which there is no charm, and they shall bite you, saith 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 When I would cheer myself up against sorrow, my heart within me is pained.

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

19 Behold [I hear] the voice of the complaint of the daughter of my people [coming] out of a far-off land: “Is the Lord not in Zion? is her king no more in her?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with the vanities of the stranger?”

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 is past, the summer is ended, and we are not yet helped.”

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

21 Because of the breach of the daughter of my people am I broken: I am grieved; astonishment hath taken fast hold on 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 [more] balm in Gil'ad? or is no physician there? why then is there not placed a plaster [on the wound of] the daughter of my people?

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