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At that time, saith Hashem, they [i.e., the invaders] shall remove the atzmot of the melachim of Yehudah, and the atzmot of his sarim, and the atzmot of the kohanim, and the atzmot of the nevi’im, and the atzmot of the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, out of their keverim;

And they shall spread them out before the shemesh, and the yarei’ach, and all the tz’va haShomayim, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have consulted, and whom they have worshiped; they shall not be gathered up, nor be buried in a kever; they shall be like domen upon the surface of ha’adamah.

And mavet shall be chosen rather than chayyim by all the She’erit of them that remain of this mishpakhah hara’ah, which remain in all the places where I have banished them, saith Hashem Tzva’os.

Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Hashem: Shall they fall, and not get up? Shall one turn away, and not turn back?

Why then does HaAm Hazeh turn away in perpetual meshuvah (backsliding)? They hold fast to deceit, refusing to make teshuvah.

I paid heed and heard, but they spoke not aright; no ish made teshuvah from his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Every one pursues his own course, like the sus (horse) charging into milchamah.

Yea, the stork in the Shomayim knoweth her mo’adim (appointed times); and the turtledove and the swift and the crane are shomer over their time for migration; but Ami (My People) have no da’as (knowledge) of the Mishpat Hashem (rule, ordinance, regulation, law of Hashem).

How can ye say, We are chachamim (wise ones), and the torat Hashem is with us, when, hinei, the et sheker (deceiving pen) of the sofrim (scribes) has made it [the torat Hashem] into sheker (a falsehood, i.e., falsely authoritative scribal interpretation has twisted Scripture, perverting its truth; see also Jer 2:8; 2K3:16; here is a warning against false teachers, and it is important because the scribal group in Israel would become the rabbinic group in time to come, and here their doctrines are coming into direct opposition to the Torah and the inerrant prophecies of Jeremiah.).

The chachamim (wise men) are ashamed, they are dismayed and trapped; they have rejected the Devar Hashem; so what chochmah (wisdom) is in them?

10 Therefore will I give their nashim unto others, and their sadot to them that shall inherit them; for every one from the katan even unto the gadol is greedy for unjust gain, from the navi even unto the kohen every one doeth sheker.

11 For they give superficial treatment to the hurt of Bat Ami, saying, Shalom, shalom; v’ein shalom.

12 Were they ashamed when they did to’evah (abomination)? No, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they know to blush; therefore shall they fall among them that fall; in the time of their pekuddat (visitation [for punishment], time of reckoning) they shall be brought down, saith Hashem.

13 I would surely have harvested them, saith Hashem, but no grapes are on the gefen, nor te’enim (figs) on the te’enah (fig tree), even the leaf shall wither; 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 fortified cities, and let us perish there; for Hashem Eloheinu hath made us to perish, and given us mey rosh (poisonous water) to drink, because we have sinned against Hashem.

15 We looked for shalom, but no tov came; and for et marpeh (a time of healing), and, hinei, terror!

16 The snorting of his [the foe from the north] susim (horses) was heard from Dan; kol ha’aretz trembled at the sound of the neighing of his stallions; for they are come, and have devoured eretz, and all that is in it; the Ir (city, i.e., the city of Dan in the north of Israel), and those that dwell therein.

17 For, hinei, I will send nachashim, tzifonim (vipers), among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith Hashem.

18 When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my lev is faint within me.

19 Hinei, the voice of the cry of the Bat Ami from eretz markhakim (a land of places far away): is Hashem not in Tziyon? Is her Melech not in her? Why have they provoked Me to anger with their pesilim (idols), and with alien vanities (futile foreign g-ds)?

20 The katzir (harvest) is past, kayitz (summer) is ended, and loh noshanu (we are not saved [from coming judgment and punishment]).

21 For the hurt of the Bat Ami am I hurt; I mourn; desolation hath taken hold on me.

22 Is there no tzori (medicinal balsam or balm) in Gil`ad; is there no rofeh (physician) there? Why then is the health of the Bat Ami not recovered?

“‘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. 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) 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

“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?
Why then have these people turned away?
    Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;(K)
    they refuse to return.(L)
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.
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.

“‘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?
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?”

“Why have they aroused(AW) my anger with their images,
    with their worthless(AX) foreign idols?”(AY)

20 “The harvest is past,
    the summer has ended,
    and we are not saved.”

21 Since my people are crushed,(AZ) I am crushed;
    I mourn,(BA) and horror grips me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?(BB)
    Is there no physician(BC) there?
Why then is there no healing(BD)
    for the wound of my people?

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  2. Jeremiah 8:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

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:

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.

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.

Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?

Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

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.

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.

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.

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?