Jeremiah 8
Expanded Bible
8 “‘The Lord says: At that time they will ·remove [L bring out] from their tombs the bones of Judah’s kings and ·officers [princes], priests and prophets, and the ·people [inhabitants] of Jerusalem. 2 The bones will be spread on the ground under the sun, moon, and ·stars [L the hosts of heaven] that the people loved and served and went after and searched for and ·worshiped [bowed down to]. No one will gather up the bones and bury them. So they will be like dung on the ground. 3 ·I will force the people of Judah to leave their homes and their land. Those of this evil family who are not dead will wish they were [L Death will be preferred to life by all the remnant of those who remain from this evil clan in all the places where I have driven them], says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].’
Sin and Punishment
4 “Say to them [C the people of Judah]: ‘This is what the Lord says:
When people fall down, don’t they get up again?
And when someone goes the wrong way, doesn’t he turn back?
5 Why, then, have the people of Jerusalem gone the wrong way
and not turned back?
They ·believe their own lies [persisted in deceit/treachery]
and refuse to turn back.
6 I have ·listened to them very carefully [paid attention and listened],
but they do not say what is ·right [honest].
They do not ·feel sorry about their wicked ways [L repent of evil],
saying, “What have I done?”
Each person ·goes his own way [runs his course],
like a horse ·charging [plunging] into a battle.
7 Even the storks in the ·sky [heavens]
know ·the right times to do things [their appointed times].
The ·doves [turtledoves], ·swifts [or swallows], and ·thrushes [or cranes]
·know [observe] when it is time to ·migrate [return].
But my people don’t know
·what the Lord wants them to do [L the ordinances/judgments of the Lord].
8 “‘·You keep saying [L How can you say…?], “We are wise,
·because we have the teachings of the Lord [L and the teachings/laws/instructions of the Lord are with us].”
But actually, ·those who explain the Scriptures
have written lies with their pens [L the false pens of the scribes have made it a lie].
9 These wise teachers ·refused to listen to [L rejected] the word of the Lord,
so ·they are not really wise at all [L what wisdom is in them?].
They will be ·ashamed [humiliated].
They will be ·shocked [stunned; astonished] and trapped.
10 So I will give their wives to other men
and their fields to ·new owners [or conquerors].
Everyone, from the least important to the greatest,
is greedy for ·money [unjust gain].
Even the prophets and priests
all ·tell lies [act falsely; are deceptive; 6:13].
11 They tried to heal my people’s ·serious injuries [fracture]
as if they were small wounds.
They said, “·It’s all right, it’s all right [L Peace, peace].”
But ·really, it is not all right [L there is no peace; 6:14].
12 They should be ashamed of the ·terrible way they act [abominations they do],
but they are not ashamed at all.
They don’t even know how to blush [C about their sins].
So they will fall, along with ·everyone else [L those who fall].
They will ·be thrown to the ground [stumble] ·when [L at the time] I punish them, says the Lord [6:15].
13 “‘I will ·take away their crops [L gather them; or bring an end to them], says the Lord.
There will be no grapes on the vine
and no figs on the fig tree.
Even the leaves will dry up.
I will take away what I gave them.’”
14 “Why are we just sitting here?
Let’s ·get [gather] together!
We have sinned against the Lord,
so he has given us poisoned water to drink.
Come, let’s ·run [L go] to the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities.
The Lord our God has ·decided that we must die [doomed us],
so let’s ·die [meet our doom] there.
15 We hoped to have peace,
but ·nothing good has come [L there is none].
We hoped for a time when he would heal us,
but only terror has come.
16 From the land of Dan [C in the far north of Israel, the direction from which the Babylonians attacked],
the snorting of its [C the enemy’s] horses is heard.
The ·ground [earth] shakes from the neighing of their ·large horses [stallions].
They have come and ·destroyed [L consumed]
the land and everything in it,
the city and all ·who live there [its inhabitants].”
17 “Look! I am sending poisonous snakes [C to attack you].
These ·snakes [vipers] cannot be charmed,
and they will bite you,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Sadness
18 God, ·you are my comfort when I am very sad [L my cheerfulness is gone; grief has come on me]
and ·when I am afraid [L my heart is sick].
19 Listen to the ·sound [L cry of distress] of ·my people [L the daughter of my people].
They cry from a faraway land:
“Isn’t the Lord still in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]?
Isn’t ·Jerusalem’s [L its] king still there?”
But God says, “Why did the people make me angry ·by worshiping idols [L with their images],
useless foreign idols?”
20 And the people say, “Harvest time is over;
summer has ended,
and we have not been ·saved [rescued].”
21 Because my people are ·crushed [broken; fractured], I am ·crushed [broken; fractured].
I ·cry loudly [mourn; lament; wail] and ·am afraid for them [L horror has seized me].
22 Isn’t there balm [C the resin of the storax tree used as medicine] in the land of Gilead [C southern section of the Transjordan region]?
Isn’t there a doctor there?
So why ·aren’t the hurts of my people healed [L is there no new skin on the wound of the daughter of my people]?
Jeremiah 8
World English Bible
8 “At that time,” says Yahweh, “they will bring the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of his princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. 2 They will spread them before the sun, the moon, and all the army of the sky, which they have loved, which they have served, after which they have walked, which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered or be buried. They will be like dung on the surface of the earth. 3 Death will be chosen rather than life by all the residue that remain of this evil family, that remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says Yahweh of Armies. 4 “Moreover you shall tell them, ‘Yahweh says:
“‘Do men fall, and not rise up again?
Does one turn away, and not return?
5 Why then have the people of Jerusalem fallen back by a perpetual backsliding?
They cling to deceit.
They refuse to return.
6 I listened and heard, but they didn’t say what is right.
No one repents of his wickedness, saying, “What have I done?”
Everyone turns to his course,
as a horse that rushes headlong in the battle.
7 Yes, the stork in the sky knows her appointed times.
The turtledove, the swallow, and the crane observe the time of their coming;
but my people don’t know Yahweh’s law.
8 “‘How do you say, “We are wise, and Yahweh’s law is with us”?
But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made that a lie.
9 The wise men are disappointed.
They are dismayed and trapped.
Behold, they have rejected Yahweh’s word.
What kind of wisdom is in them?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to others
and their fields to those who will possess them.
For everyone from the least even to the greatest is given to covetousness;
from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely.
11 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?
No, they were not at all ashamed.
They couldn’t blush.
Therefore they will fall among those who fall.
In the time of their visitation they will be cast down, says Yahweh.
13 “‘I will utterly consume them, says Yahweh.
No grapes will be on the vine,
no figs on the fig tree,
and the leaf will fade.
The things that I have given them
will pass away from them.’”
14 “Why do we sit still?
Assemble yourselves!
Let’s enter into the fortified cities,
and let’s be silent there;
for Yahweh our God has put us to silence,
and given us poisoned water to drink,
because we have sinned against Yahweh.
15 We looked for peace, but no good came;
and for a time of healing, and behold, dismay!
16 The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan.
The whole land trembles at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones;
for they have come, and have devoured the land and all that is in it,
the city and those who dwell therein.”
17 “For, behold, I will send serpents,
adders among you,
which will not be charmed;
and they will bite you,” says Yahweh.
18 Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow!
My heart is faint within me.
19 Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off:
“Isn’t Yahweh in Zion?
Isn’t her King in her?”
“Why have they provoked me to anger with their engraved images,
and with foreign idols?”
20 “The harvest is past.
The summer has ended,
and we are not saved.”
21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people, I am hurt.
I mourn.
Dismay has taken hold of me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then isn’t the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.