Jeremiah 8

The Sin and Treachery of Judah

1“At that time,” declares the Lord, “they will 1bring out 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 the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves. 2They will spread them out to the sun, the moon and to all the 2host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have gone after and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered 3or buried; 4they will be as dung on the face of the ground. 3And 5death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the 6places to which I have driven them,” declares the Lord of hosts. 4“You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Do men 7fall and not get up again? Does one turn away and not 8repent?5Why then has this people, Jerusalem, 9Turned away in continual apostasy? They 10hold fast to deceit, They 11refuse to return.6I 12have listened and heard, They have spoken what is not right; 13No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his course, Like a 14horse charging into the battle.7Even the stork in the sky 15Knows her seasons; And the 16turtledove and the swift and the thrush Observe the time of their 17migration; But 18My people do not know The ordinance of the Lord.

8“19How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the Lord is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie.9The wise men are 20put to shame, They are dismayed and caught; Behold, they have 21rejected the word of the Lord, And what kind of wisdom do they have?10Therefore I will 22give their wives to others, Their fields to 23new owners; Because from the least even to the greatest Everyone is 24greedy for gain; From the prophet even to the priest Everyone practices deceit.11They 25heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.12Were they 26ashamed because of the abomination they had done? They certainly were not ashamed, And they did not know how to blush; Therefore they shall 27fall among those who fall; At the 28time of their punishment they shall be brought down,” Says the Lord.

13“I will 29surely snatch them away,” declares the Lord; “There will be 30no grapes on the vine And 31no figs on the fig tree, And the leaf will wither; And what I have given them will pass away.”’”14Why are we sitting still? 32Assemble yourselves, and let us 33go into the fortified cities And let us perish there, Because the Lord our God has doomed us And given us 34poisoned water to drink, For 35we have sinned against the Lord.15We 36waited for peace, but no good came; For a time of healing, but behold, terror!16From 37Dan is heard the snorting of his horses; At the sound of the neighing of his 38stallions The whole land quakes; For they come and 39devour the land and its fullness, The city and its inhabitants.17“For behold, I am 40sending serpents against you, Adders, for which there is 41no charm, And they will bite you,” declares the Lord.

1842My 43sorrow is beyond healing, My 44heart is faint within me!19Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a 45distant land: “Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not within her?” “Why have they 46provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign 4748idols?”20“Harvest is past, summer is ended, And we are not saved.”21For the 49brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken; I 50mourn, dismay has taken hold of me.22Is there no 51balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? 52Why then has not the 53health of the daughter of my people 54been restored?