Jeremiah Chapter 8
1 Yahveh says,
“At that time, they’ll bring out of their graves the bones of Judah’s kings, its officials, priests, prophets, and the people of Jerusalem. 2 They’ll spread them out to the sun, moon, and stars, which they’ve loved, served, and worshiped. They won’t be gathered up or buried. They’ll be like manure on the ground. 3 The remnant of this evil family will chose death rather than life.
Jer 8:1-3
False Prophets
4 “Tell them, ‘Yahveh says,
“When people fall down,
don’t they get back up?
When they get off course,
don’t they get back on it?”
5 Why then do my people, Jerusalem,
turn away and keep backsliding?
They hang onto deceit and refuse to return.
6 I’ve been listening to what they’re saying,
and it’s not right.
Nobody’s repented or said,
‘What have I done?!’
Everybody keeps up their old habits
like a horse charging into battle.
7 Even a stork in the sky knows when to migrate;
so does a turtledove, swift, or thrush.
But my people don’t know my patterns of living.
Jer 8:4-7
8 “How can you say, ‘We’re wise;
we have Yahveh’s Law’?
The scribes’ lying pen
makes a lie out of it.
9 The wise are put to shame;
they’re intimidated and trapped.
They’ve rejected Yahveh’s word;
so what kind of wisdom do they have?
10 So I’ll give their wives to other people
and their fields to conquerors;
because every one is greedy
from least to greatest;
every one cheats
from prophet to priest.
11 They try to bandage over my people’s wounds by saying, ‘Everything’s all right,’ when it’s not.
12 “Are they ever ashamed of their disgusting acts?
Not at all! They can’t even blush;
so they’ll fall among the fallen
when I punish them,” Yahveh says.
Jer 8:8-12
13 “When I snatch them away, there won’t be any grapes left on the vine or figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither;
what I’ve given them will be gone.” 14 Why are we sitting here? Let’s get to fortified cities to die;
Yahveh our God has doomed us
by giving us poisoned water to drink.
15 We looked for peace, but it didn’t come;
we waited for healing, but terror came.
Jer 8:13-15
16 From Dan we can hear the horses snorting;
at the sound of his stallions’ neighing
the whole land quakes;
they’re coming to devastate the land
and everything in it,
the city and its people.
17 “I’m sending ‘snakes’ [troops] among you,
adders you can’t charm,
and they’ll bite you,” Yahveh says.
Jer 8:16-17
Jeremiah Mourns over Sinful Judah
18My sorrow can’t be healed;
my heart is sick!
19 Listen! It’s my people’s outcry from a distant land:
“Isn’t Yahveh in Zion?
Isn’t its king there?”
“Why have they made me angry
with their carved images and foreign idols?”
20 “Harvest is past, summer’s over;
and we’re not saved.”
Jer 8:18-20
21 I’m hurting for my people’s hurt;
I mourn, panic has seized me.
22 Isn’t there any salve in Gilead?
Isn’t there any doctor there?
Why hasn’t my people’s health been restored?
Jer 8:21-22