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,
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 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 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 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.
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 “And you have said to them, Thus said YHWH: Do they fall, and not rise? Does he turn back, 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 has this people of Jerusalem Turned back—a continuous backsliding? They have kept hold on deceit, They have refused to turn back.
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 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'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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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.
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 And they heal the breach of the daughter of My people slightly, Saying, Peace, peace! And 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 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 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 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'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 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.
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 Looking for peace—and there is no good, For a time of healing, and behold—terror.
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 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 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 am sending serpents among you, Vipers that have no charmer, And they have bitten you,” A declaration of 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 My sorrow [is] beyond comfort, My heart [is] sick in me.
Nothing comforts me in my suffering; I feel terrible inside.
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 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 Harvest has passed, summer has ended, And we have not been saved.
“The harvest is over, the summer is finished, but we're not saved,” say the people.
21 For a breach of the daughter of my people I have been broken, I have been dark, Astonishment has seized 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 has the health of the daughter of my people not gone up?
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?
