Jeremiah 8:14-22

14“Then the people will say, ‘Why should we wait here to die? Come, let’s go to the fortified towns and die there. For the Lord our God has decreed our destruction and has given us a cup of poison to drink because we sinned against the Lord.

15We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.’

16“The snorting of the enemies’ warhorses can be heard all the way from the land of Dan in the north! The neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble. They are coming to devour the land and everything in it— cities and people alike.

17I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes you cannot charm. They will bite you, and you will die. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

18My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken.

19Listen to the weeping of my people; it can be heard all across the land. “Has the Lord abandoned Jerusalem?” the people ask. “Is her King no longer there?” “Oh, why have they provoked my anger with their carved idols and their worthless foreign gods?” says the Lord.

20“The harvest is finished, and the summer is gone,” the people cry, “yet we are not saved!”

21I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief.

22Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people?