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Jeremiah 8
New Century Version
Jeremiah 8
New Century Version
8 “‘The Lord says: At that time they will remove from their tombs the bones of Judah’s kings and officers, priests and prophets, and the people of Jerusalem. 2 The bones will be spread on the ground under the sun, moon, and stars that the people loved and served and went after and searched for and worshiped. No one will gather up the bones and bury them. So they will be like dung thrown 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, says the Lord All-Powerful.’
Sin and Punishment
4 “Say to 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
and refuse to turn around and come back.
6 I have listened to them very carefully,
but they do not say what is right.
They do not feel sorry about their wicked ways,
saying, “What have I done?”
Each person goes his own way,
like a horse charging into a battle.
7 Even the birds in the sky
know the right times to do things.
The storks, doves, swifts, and thrushes
know when it is time to migrate.
But my people don’t know
what the Lord wants them to do.
8 “‘You keep saying, “We are wise,
because we have the teachings of the Lord.”
But actually, those who explain the Scriptures
have written lies with their pens.
9 These wise teachers refused to listen to the word of the Lord,
so they are not really wise at all.
They will be ashamed.
They will be shocked and trapped.
10 So I will give their wives to other men
and their fields to new owners.
Everyone, from the least important to the greatest,
is greedy for money.
Even the prophets and priests
all tell lies.
11 They tried to heal my people’s serious injuries
as if they were small wounds.
They said, “It’s all right, it’s all right.”
But really, it is not all right.
12 They should be ashamed of the terrible way they act,
but they are not ashamed at all.
They don’t even know how to blush about their sins.
So they will fall, along with everyone else.
They will be thrown to the ground when I punish them, says the Lord.
13 “‘I will take away their crops, says the Lord.
There will be no grapes on the vine
and no figs on the fig tree.
Even the leaves will dry up and die.
I will take away what I gave them.’”
14 “Why are we just sitting here?
Let’s get together!
We have sinned against the Lord,
so he has given us poisoned water to drink.
Come, let’s run to the strong, walled cities.
The Lord our God has decided that we must die,
so let’s die there.
15 We hoped to have peace,
but nothing good has come.
We hoped for a time when he would heal us,
but only terror has come.
16 From the land of Dan,
the snorting of the enemy’s horses is heard.
The ground shakes from the neighing of their large horses.
They have come and destroyed
the land and everything in it,
the city and all who live there.”
17 “Look! I am sending poisonous snakes to attack you.
These snakes 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
and when I am afraid.
19 Listen to the sound of my people.
They cry from a faraway land:
“Isn’t the Lord still in Jerusalem?
Isn’t Jerusalem’s king still there?”
But God says, “Why did the people make me angry by worshiping idols,
useless foreign idols?”
20 And the people say, “Harvest time is over;
summer has ended,
and we have not been saved.”
21 Because my people are crushed, I am crushed.
I cry loudly and am afraid for them.
22 Isn’t there balm in the land of Gilead?
Isn’t there a doctor there?
So why aren’t the hurts of my people healed?
Jeremiah 8
New International Version
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. 2 They 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) 3 Wherever 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?
5 Why then have these people turned away?
Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;(K)
they refuse to return.(L)
6 I 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.
7 Even 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?
9 The 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?
10 Therefore 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)
11 They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
when there is no peace.(AA)
12 Are 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]’”
14 Why 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.
15 We hoped for peace(AL)
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.(AM)
16 The 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.
18 You who are my Comforter[b] in sorrow,
my heart is faint(AT) within me.
19 Listen 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?”
20 “The harvest is past,
the summer has ended,
and we are not saved.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
- Jeremiah 8:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Jeremiah 8
King James Version
Jeremiah 8
King James Version
8 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?
New Century Version (NCV) 
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.