Jeremiah 8

1 “In that time, says the Lord, they will cast out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its leaders, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of those who were living in Jerusalem, from their graves.

At that time, saith Jehovah, they shall bring forth 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 will spread them out before the sun and the moon and the entire army of the heavens, which they have loved, and served, and followed, and which they have sought and adored. They will not be collected, and they will not be buried. They will be like manure upon the face of the earth.

and they shall spread them out to the sun and to the moon and to all the host of the heavens, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the ground.

3 And they will greatly prefer death to life: all those who will have been left from this wicked kindred, in all the forsaken places to which I will cast them out, says the Lord of hosts.

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

4 And you will say to them: Thus says the Lord: He who falls, will he not rise again? And he who has been turned away, will he not return?

And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: Do [men] fall, and not rise up? Doth one turn away, and not return?

5 Then why have this people in Jerusalem turned away with a contentious loathing? They have taken hold of what is false, and they are not willing to return.

Why hath this people of Jerusalem slidden back with a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

6 I paid close attention and I listened carefully. No one is speaking what is good. There is no one who does penance for his sin, saying: ‘What have I done?’ They have all turned to their own course, like a horse rushing with fury into battle.

I hearkened and heard: they speak not what is right; there is no man who repenteth him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Every one turneth to his course, like a horse rushing into the battle.

7 The hawk in the heavens has known her time. The turtledove, and the swallow, and the stork have kept the time of their arrival. But my people have not known the judgment of the Lord.

Even a stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times, and the turtle-dove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of Jehovah.

8 How can you say: ‘We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us?’ Truly, the lying pen of the scribes has wrought falsehood.

How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of Jehovah is with us? Behold, certainly the lying pen of the scribes hath made it falsehood.

9 The wise men have been confounded; they were terrified and captured. For they cast aside the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them.

The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: behold, they have rejected Jehovah's word; and what wisdom is in them?

10 Because of this, I will give their wives to outsiders and their fields to others as an inheritance. For from the least, even to the greatest, they all pursue avarice; from the prophet, even to the priest, they all act with deceit.

Therefore will I give their wives unto others, their fields to those that shall possess [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 And they healed the destruction of the daughter of my people with disgrace, by saying: ‘Peace, peace,’ though there was no peace.

And they have healed the breach of the daughter of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace! when there is no peace.

12 They have been confounded because they committed abomination. Or rather, they have not been confounded with shame, for they do not know how to blush. For this reason, they will fall among the fallen. In the time of their visitation, they will fall, says the Lord.

Are they ashamed that they have committed abomination? Nay, they are not at all ashamed, and they know not how to blush. Therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall stumble, saith Jehovah.

13 When gathering, I will gather them together, says the Lord. There are no grapes on the vine, and there are no figs on the fig tree. The leaves have fallen. And I have given them the things that have passed away.”

I will utterly take them away, saith Jehovah: there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig-tree; and the leaf is faded: and I will give them up to those that shall pass over them.

14 “Why are we sitting still? Assemble, and let us enter the fortified city, and let us remain silent there. For the Lord our God has brought us to silence, and he has given us the water of gall as a drink. For we have sinned against the Lord.

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

15 We expected peace, but there was nothing good. We expected a time of health, and behold, dread.”

Peace is looked for, and there is no good; a time of healing, and behold, terror.

16 “From Dan, the snorting of his horses was heard; the entire land was shaken by the voice of the neighing of his fighters. And they arrived and devoured the land and its plenitude, the city and its inhabitants.

The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan: the whole land trembleth at the sound of the neighing of his steeds, and they come, and devour the land, and all it contains, the city and those that dwell therein.

17 For behold, I will send among you serpents, king snakes, against which there is no charm, and they will bite you, says the Lord.

For behold, I send among you serpents, vipers against which there is no charm, and they shall bite you, saith Jehovah.

18 My sorrow is beyond sorrow; my heart mourns within me.

My comfort in my sadness! my heart is faint in me!

19 Behold, the voice of the daughter of my people from a far away land. Is the Lord not with Zion, and is her king not within her? Then why have they provoked me to wrath by their graven images, and by their strange vanities?

Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people, from a very far country: Is not Jehovah in Zion? Is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, with foreign vanities?

20 The harvest has passed by, the summer is at an end, and we have not been saved.

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

21 Over the destruction of the daughter of my people, I am contrite and saddened; astonishment has taken hold of me.

— For the breach of the daughter of my people am I crushed; I go mourning; astonishment hath taken hold of me.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Or is there no physician there? Then why has the wound of the daughter of my people not been closed?”

Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? Why then is there no dressing applied for the healing of the daughter of my people?