Jeremiah 8

New International Version

8 “‘At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones^(A) of the people of Jerusalem will be removed^(B) from their graves. ²They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served^(C) and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped.^(D) They will not be gathered up or buried,^(E) but will be like dung lying on the ground.^(F) ³Wherever I banish them,^(G) all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life,^(H) declares the Lord Almighty.’

Sin and Punishment

⁴“Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘When people fall down, do they not get up?^(I)
    When someone turns away,^(J) do they not return?
⁵Why then have these people turned away?
    Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;^(K)
    they refuse to return.^(L)
⁶I have listened^(M) attentively,
    but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent^(N) of their wickedness,
    saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course^(O)
    like a horse charging into battle.
⁷Even the stork in the sky
    knows her appointed seasons,
and the dove, the swift and the thrush
    observe the time of their migration.
But my people do not know^(P)
    the requirements of the Lord.

⁸“‘How can you say, “We are wise,
    for we have the law^(Q) of the Lord,”
when actually the lying pen of the scribes
    has handled it falsely?
⁹The wise^(R) will be put to shame;
    they will be dismayed^(S) and trapped.^(T)
Since they have rejected the word^(U) of the Lord,
    what kind of wisdom^(V) do they have?
¹⁰Therefore I will give their wives to other men
    and their fields to new owners.^(W)
From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;^(X)
prophets^(Y) and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.^(Z)
¹¹They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
    when there is no peace.^(AA)
¹²Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame^(AB) at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when they are punished,^(AC)
says the Lord.^(AD)

¹³“‘I will take away their harvest,
declares the Lord.
    There will be no grapes on the vine.^(AE)
There will be no figs^(AF) on the tree,
    and their leaves will wither.^(AG)
What I have given them
    will be taken^(AH) from them.^[a]’”

¹⁴Why are we sitting here?
    Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities^(AI)
    and perish there!
For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
    and given us poisoned water^(AJ) to drink,
    because we have sinned^(AK) against him.
¹⁵We hoped for peace^(AL)
    but no good has come,
for a time of healing
    but there is only terror.^(AM)
¹⁶The snorting of the enemy’s horses^(AN)
    is heard from Dan;^(AO)
at the neighing of their stallions
    the whole land trembles.^(AP)
They have come to devour^(AQ)
    the land and everything in it,
    the city and all who live there.

¹⁷“See, I will send venomous snakes^(AR) among you,
vipers that cannot be charmed,^(AS)
and they will bite you,”
declares the Lord.

¹⁸You who are my Comforter^[b] in sorrow,
    my heart is faint^(AT) within me.
¹⁹Listen to the cry of my people
    from a land far away:^(AU)
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
    Is her King^(AV) no longer there?”

“Why have they aroused^(AW) my anger with their images,
with their worthless^(AX) foreign idols?”^(AY)

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

²¹Since my people are crushed,^(AZ) I am crushed;
    I mourn,^(BA) and horror grips me.
²²Is there no balm in Gilead?^(BB)
    Is there no physician^(BC) there?
Why then is there no healing^(BD)
    for the wound of my people?