Jeremiah 8

1 “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 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 wherever I have banished them, the remnant of this evil family will choose death over life,” declares the LORD of Hosts.

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

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

16 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 will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD.

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

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

21 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 no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?

1 ¶ At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out 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:

2 And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.

3 And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.

4 ¶ Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?

5 Why [then] is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

6 I hearkened and heard, [but] they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.

7 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.

8 How do ye say, We [are] wise, and the law of the LORD [is] with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he [it]; the pen of the scribes [is] in vain.

9 The wise [men] are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom [is] in them?

10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, [and] their fields to them that shall inherit [them]: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when [there is] no peace.

12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.

13 ¶ I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: [there shall be] no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and [the things that] I have given them shall pass away from them.

14 Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

15 We looked for peace, but no good [came; and] for a time of health, and behold trouble!

16 The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.

17 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which [will] not [be] charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.

18 [When] I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart [is] faint in me.

19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: [Is] not the LORD in Zion? [is] not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, [and] with strange vanities?

20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.

22 [Is there] no balm in Gilead; [is there] no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

4 Say therefore unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Where is there any that falleth, which will not gladly rise again? Where is there any that goeth astray, which will not gladly recover himself?

5 For yet this people of Jerusalem will go astray for ever and ever. They hold so hard to the false worship, that they will not be turned away.

6 I see and hear that they teach nothing right. There is none that is sorry for his wickedness, saying, What do I do? They all run their course like a fierce stallion at war.

7 A stork under heaven knoweth his time, a turtledove, a crane, and a swallow, know their time, when they shall return: but my people will not know the right of the LORD.

8 How can ye say, We know what is right, and have the scriptures before us? For what the scribes say is a lie.

9 Therefore such teachers must be put to shame, and be afraid, and be taken: for what good can they teach, because they reject the word of the LORD?

10 Therefore will I give their wives unto strangers, and their fields unto them that drive them out. For they are all covetous, both small and great; and both priests and prophets teach false worship.

11 And they comfort my people in their affliction, that they should esteem them little, saying, Peace, peace; and yet is not peace.

12 Therefore shall they be ashamed, because they have committed such abominations, though they will be undefiled, and will not be ashamed. Therefore they shall fall in heaps, and when I visit them, they shall fall, saith the LORD.

13 I will gather them all, saith the LORD; and there shall not be left grapes in the vine, nor figs in the fig tree; yea, the leaves also shall fall away: and that which I have given them shall be taken away from them.

14 Where then shall we dwell? gather yourselves together, and let us go into the strong cities, and there wait for help. For the LORD our God will help us with a bitter drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

15 Yea, trust ye that there shall be no need, when there is no good; and that ye shall be healed, when there is great hurt.

16 And it shall be heard, that their horses shall make a noise in Dan, and their horses shall give a shout, and the whole land shall tremble. And they shall go forth, and devour the land, and all that is therein, and the city, and all that dwell therein.

17 For, behold, I will send serpents and basilisks among you, which are not sworn; and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.

18 There will I rejoice in my labour and in my heart's sorrow.

19 Behold, the daughter of my people shall cry out from a far country, Will not the LORD be God in Zion any more, or shall she have no king? Yea, why have they provoked me to anger with their images, and with their strange and vain services?

20 The harvest is past, the summer is gone, and no help is come unto us.

21 I am heartily sorry that my people are so corrupt: I am grieved and wretched.

22 Is there no ointment in Gilead? or is there no physician? Why then is not the daughter of my people healed?