17 “For behold, I will send serpents among you,
Vipers which cannot be (A)charmed,
And they shall bite you,” says the Lord.

The Prophet Mourns for the People

18 I would comfort myself in sorrow;
My heart is faint in me.
19 Listen! The voice,
The cry of the daughter of my people
From (B)a far country:
Is not the Lord in Zion?
Is not her King in her?”

“Why have they provoked Me to anger
With their carved images—
With foreign idols?”

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17 “See, I will send venomous snakes(A) among you,
    vipers that cannot be charmed,(B)
    and they will bite you,”
declares the Lord.

18 You who are my Comforter[a] in sorrow,
    my heart is faint(C) within me.
19 Listen to the cry of my people
    from a land far away:(D)
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
    Is her King(E) no longer there?”

“Why have they aroused(F) my anger with their images,
    with their worthless(G) foreign idols?”(H)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 8:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.