Jeremiah 8

1 “At that time,” A declaration of YHWH, “They bring the bones of the kings of Judah, And the bones of its princes, And the bones of the priests, And the bones of the prophets, And the bones of 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 have spread them to sun, and to moon, And to all the host of the heavens, that they have loved, And that they have served, And that they have walked after, And that they have sought, And to which they have bowed themselves, They are not gathered, nor buried, They are for dung on the face of the ground.

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 is chosen rather than life By all the remnant who are left of this evil family, In all the remaining places, to where I have driven them,” A declaration of YHWH 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 you have said to them, Thus said YHWH: Do they fall, and not rise? Does he turn back, and not return?

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 has this people of Jerusalem Turned back—a continuous backsliding? They have kept hold on deceit, They have refused to turn back.

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

6 I have given attention, indeed, I listen, They do not speak right, No man has sighed over his wickedness, Saying, What have I done? Everyone has turned to his courses, As a horse is rushing into 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 Even a stork in the heavens has known her seasons, And turtle, and swallow, and crane, Have watched the time of their coming, And—My people have not known the judgment of YHWH.

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 YHWH [is] with us? Surely, behold, it has worked falsely, The false pen of scribes.

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 have been ashamed, They have been frightened, and are captured, Behold, they kicked against a word of YHWH, And what wisdom do they have?

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 give their wives to others, Their fields to dispossessors, For from the least even to the greatest, Everyone is gaining dishonest gain, From prophet even to priest, everyone is dealing falsely.

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 heal the breach of the daughter of My people slightly, Saying, Peace, peace! And there is 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 were ashamed when they did abomination! Indeed, they are not ashamed at all, And they have not known blushing, Therefore, they fall among falling ones, They stumble in the time of their inspection, said YHWH.

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 I utterly consume them,” A declaration of YHWH, “There are no grapes in the vine, Indeed, there are no figs in the fig tree, And the leaf has faded, And the strength they have passes from them.

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 are we sitting still? Be gathered, and we go into the fortified cities, And we are silent there, For our God YHWH has made us silent, Indeed, He causes us to drink water of gall, For we have sinned against YHWH.

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 Looking for peace—and there is no good, For a time of healing, and behold—terror.

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

16 The snorting of his horses has been heard from Dan, From the voice of the neighings of his mighty ones, All the land has trembled, And they come in and consume the land and its fullness, The city and the inhabitants in it.

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 am sending serpents among you, Vipers that have no charmer, And they have bitten you,” A declaration of YHWH.

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

18 My sorrow [is] beyond comfort, My heart [is] sick in me.

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

19 Behold, the voice of a cry of the daughter of my people from a far-off land, Is YHWH not in Zion? Is her King not in her? “Why have they provoked Me with their carved images, With the vanities of a foreigner?”

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 Harvest has passed, summer has ended, And we have not been saved.

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

21 For a breach of the daughter of my people I have been broken, I have been dark, Astonishment has seized 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 Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why has the health of the daughter of my people not gone up?

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