Jeremiah 8

Chapter 8

1 “In that day,” says the LORD, “the enemy will break open the graves of the kings and officials of Judah, and the graves of the priests, prophets, and common people of Jerusalem.2 They will spread out their bones on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars—the gods my people have loved, served, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like manure.

3 And the people of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather than live where I will send them. I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!

Deception by False Prophets

4 “Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the LORD says:
“‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again?
When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back?5 Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path?
Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back?
They cling tightly to their lies
and will not turn around.6 I listen to their conversations
and don’t hear a word of truth.
Is anyone sorry for doing wrong?
Does anyone say, “What a terrible thing I have done”?
No! All are running down the path of sin
as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle!7 Even the stork that flies across the sky
knows the time of her migration,
as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane.t
They all return at the proper time each year.
But not my people!
They do not know the LORD’s laws.8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the LORD,”
when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies?9 These wise teachers will fall
into the trap of their own foolishness,
for they have rejected the word of the LORD.
Are they so wise after all?10 I will give their wives to others
and their farms to strangers.
From the least to the greatest,
their lives are ruled by greed.
Yes, even my prophets and priests are like that.
They are all frauds.11 They offer superficial treatments
for my people’s mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace
when there is no peace.12 Are they ashamed of these disgusting actions?
Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush!
Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered.
They will be brought down when I punish them,
says the LORD.13 I will surely consume them.
There will be no more harvests of figs and grapes.
Their fruit trees will all die.
Whatever I gave them will soon be gone.
I, the LORD, have spoken!’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.15 We 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.17 I 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!”

Jeremiah Weeps for Sinful Judah

18 My grief is beyond healing;
my heart is broken.19 Listen to the weeping of my people;
it can be heard all across the land.
“Has the LORD abandoned Jerusalem?t” 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!”21 I hurt with the hurt of my people.
I mourn and am overcome with grief.22 Is there no medicine in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why is there no healing
for the wounds of my people?

JEREMIAH 8

1 Then the bones of the dead kings of Judah and their officials will be dug up, along with the bones of the priests, the prophets, and everyone else in Jerusalem

2 who loved and worshiped the sun, moon, and stars. These bones will be scattered and left lying on the ground like trash, where the sun and moon and stars can shine on them.

3 Some of you people of Judah will be left alive, but I will force you to go to foreign countries, and you will wish you were dead. I, the [Lord] God All-Powerful, have spoken.

The People //Took the Wrong Road

4 The [Lord] said:
People of Jerusalem,
when you stumble and fall,
you get back up,
and if you take a wrong road,
you turn around and go back.t

5 So why do you refuse
to come back to me?
Why do you hold so tightly
to your false gods?

6 I listen carefully,
but none of you admit
that you've done wrong.
Without a second thought,
you run down the wrong roadt
like horses running blindly
into battle.

7 Storks, doves, swallows,
and thrushes
all know when it's time
to fly away for the winter
and when to come back.
But you, my people,
don't know what I demand.

8 You say, “We are wise
because we have the teachings
and laws of the [Lord].”
But I say that your teachers
have turned my words
into lies!

9 Your wise men
have rejected what I say,
and so they have no wisdom.
Now they will be trapped
and put to shame;
they won't know what to do.

10  t I'll give their wives and fields
to strangers.
Everyone is greedy and dishonest,
whether poor or rich.
Even the prophets and priests
cannot be trusted.

11  t All they ever offer
to my deeply wounded people
are empty hopes for peace.

12 They should be ashamed
of the way they live,
but they don't even blush.
And so, when I punish Judah,
they will end up on the ground,
dead like everyone else.

13 I will wipe them out.t
They are vines without grapes;
fig trees without figs or leaves.
They have not done a thing
that I told them!t
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

The People //and Their Punishment

14 The people of Judah
say to each other,
“What are we waiting for?
Let's run to a town with walls
and die there.
We rebelled against the [Lord],
and we were sentenced to die
by drinking poison.

15 We had hoped for peace
and a time of healing,
but all we got was terror.

16 Our enemies have reached
the town of Dan in the north,
and the snorting of their horses
makes us tremble with fear.
The enemy will destroy Jerusalem
and our entire nation.
No one will survive.”

17 “Watch out!” the [Lord] says.
“I'm sending poisonous snakes
to attack you,
and no one can stop them.”

Jeremiah Mourns //for His People

18 I'm burdened with sorrow
and feel like giving up.

19 In a foreign land
my people are crying.
Listen! You'll hear them say,
“Has the [Lord] deserted Zion?
Is he no longer its king?”
I hear the [Lord] reply,
“Why did you make me angry
by worshiping useless idols?”

20 The people complain,
“Spring and summer
have come and gone,
but still the [Lord]
hasn't rescued us.”

21 My people are crushed,
and so is my heart.
I am horrified and mourn.

22 If medicine and doctors
may be found in Gilead,
why aren't my people healed?