Jeremiah 8

1 At that time, Declareth Yahweh, Shall they bring forth, 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,

“In that time, says the Lord, they will cast out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its leaders, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of those who were living in Jerusalem, from their graves.

2 And shall spread them out—To the sun, and To the moon, and To all the host of the heavens, Whom they have loved, And whom they have served, And after whom they have walked, And whom they have sought, And to whom they have bowed themselves down, —They shall not be gathered, Neither shall they be buried, As heaps of dung on the face of the ground, shall they be.

And they will spread them out before the sun and the moon and the entire army of the heavens, which they have loved, and served, and followed, and which they have sought and adored. They will not be collected, and they will not be buried. They will be like manure upon the face of the earth.

3 Then shall, death, be chosen rather than life, by all the remnant of them that remain, of this wicked family, —in all the places, whither I have driven them, Declareth Yahweh of hosts.

And they will greatly prefer death to life: all those who will have been left from this wicked kindred, in all the forsaken places to which I will cast them out, says the Lord of hosts.

4 Therefore shalt thou say unto them—Thus, saith Yahweh, Will men fall and not arise? Will one turn away, and not come back?

And you will say to them: Thus says the Lord: He who falls, will he not rise again? And he who has been turned away, will he not return?

5 Wherefore hath this people of Jerusalem apostatized with an enduring apostacy, —Taken fast hold of deceit, Refused to come back?

Then why have this people in Jerusalem turned away with a contentious loathing? They have taken hold of what is false, and they are not willing to return.

6 I hearkened and heard—Not aright, did they speak, —Not a man, repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done! They have every one, turned to their course again, Like a horse sweeping on through the battle.

I paid close attention and I listened carefully. No one is speaking what is good. There is no one who does penance for his sin, saying: ‘What have I done?’ They have all turned to their own course, like a horse rushing with fury into battle.

7 Even the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times, And the turtle and the swallow and the crane, observe the season for coming; But my people know not the just sentence of Yahweh.

The hawk in the heavens has known her time. The turtledove, and the swallow, and the stork have kept the time of their arrival. But my people have not known the judgment of the Lord.

8 How can ye say, Wise, are, we, And the law of Yahweh, is with us? But indeed lo! falsely, hath dealt the false pen of the scribes!

How can you say: ‘We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us?’ Truly, the lying pen of the scribes has wrought falsehood.

9 Ashamed are the wise, dismayed and captured! Lo! the word of Yahweh, have they rejected, And, what wisdom, have, they?

The wise men have been confounded; they were terrified and captured. For they cast aside the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them.

10 Therefore, will I give—Their wives to others, Their fields to such as shall take possession of them, For from the least, even unto the greatest, Every one, is, wholly given to extortion: From the prophet even unto the priest, Every one, dealeth, falsely.

Because of this, I will give their wives to outsiders and their fields to others as an inheritance. For from the least, even to the greatest, they all pursue avarice; from the prophet, even to the priest, they all act with deceit.

11 And so they have healed the grievous wound of the daughter of my people, slightly, —Saying, Peace! peace! when there was no peace!

And they healed the destruction of the daughter of my people with disgrace, by saying: ‘Peace, peace,’ though there was no peace.

12 Were they led to turn pale because an abominable thing, they had done? Nay! they did not, at all turn pale Nay! they did not so much as know how to exhibit shame! Therefore, shall they fall among them who are falling, In the time when they are punished, shall they be overthrown, Saith Yahweh:

They have been confounded because they committed abomination. Or rather, they have not been confounded with shame, for they do not know how to blush. For this reason, they will fall among the fallen. In the time of their visitation, they will fall, says the Lord.

13 I will, surely remove, them, declareth Yahweh: There shall be no grapes on the vine Nor figs on the fig-tree, Even the leaf, hath faded, Though I have given them these things, they shall pass away from them.

When gathering, I will gather them together, says the Lord. There are no grapes on the vine, and there are no figs on the fig tree. The leaves have fallen. And I have given them the things that have passed away.”

14 Why are, we, sitting still? Gather yourselves together and let us enter the defenced cities And let us be silent there, —For, Yahweh our God, hath put us to silence And made us drink poisoned water, Because we have sinned against Yahweh.

“Why are we sitting still? Assemble, and let us enter the fortified city, and let us remain silent there. For the Lord our God has brought us to silence, and he has given us the water of gall as a drink. For we have sinned against the Lord.

15 A waiting For prosperity, but no welfare, —For a time of healing, but lo! terror.

We expected peace, but there was nothing good. We expected a time of health, and behold, dread.”

16 From Dan, was heard the snorting of his horses At the sound of the neighing of his chargers, the whole land trembled, —Yea they came in and did sat up The land and the fulness thereof, The city, and them who were dwelling therein.

“From Dan, the snorting of his horses was heard; the entire land was shaken by the voice of the neighing of his fighters. And they arrived and devoured the land and its plenitude, the city and its inhabitants.

17 For behold me! sending among you serpents—vipers which there is no charming, —And they shall fatally bite you declareth Yahweh.

For behold, I will send among you serpents, king snakes, against which there is no charm, and they will bite you, says the Lord.

18 When I would have cheered myself against sorrow, Against me, mine own heart sickened: —

My sorrow is beyond sorrow; my heart mourns within me.

19 Lo! the voice of the cry for help of the daughter of my people from a land far away, Is, Yahweh, not in Zion? Is, her King, not within her? Why, have they provoked me with their carved images, with their foreign vanities?

Behold, the voice of the daughter of my people from a far away land. Is the Lord not with Zion, and is her king not within her? Then why have they provoked me to wrath by their graven images, and by their strange vanities?

20 The harvest is passed, The fruit-gathering, is ended; And we are not saved!

The harvest has passed by, the summer is at an end, and we have not been saved.

21 For the grievous injury of the daughter of my people, I am grievously injured, —I am enshrouded in gloom, Horror, hath seized me: —

Over the destruction of the daughter of my people, I am contrite and saddened; astonishment has taken hold of me.

22 Balsam, is there none, in Gilead? Is there no physician, there? Why hath not appeared the healing of the daughter of my people?

Is there no balm in Gilead? Or is there no physician there? Then why has the wound of the daughter of my people not been closed?”