Jeremiah 8:5-20
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 8
5Why has this people, Jerusalem, Turned away in continual apostasy? They hold on to deceit, They refuse to return. 6I have listened and heard, They have spoken what is not right; No one repented of his wickedness, Saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turned to his own course, Like a horse charging into the battle. 7Even the stork in the sky Knows her seasons; And the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane Keep to the time of their migration; But My people do not know The judgment of the Lord. 8'How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the Law of the Lord is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie. 9The wise men are put to shame, They are dismayed and caught; Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, So what kind of wisdom do they have? 10Therefore I will give their wives to others, Their fields to new owners; Because from the least even to the greatest Everyone is greedy for gain; From the prophet even to the priest, Everyone practices deceit. 11They have healed the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. 12Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done? They were not ashamed at all, And they did not know how to be ashamed; Therefore they will fall among those who fall; At the time of their punishment they will collapse,' Says the Lord. 13'I will certainly snatch them away,' declares the Lord. 'There will be no grapes on the vine And no figs on the fig tree, And the leaf will wither; And what I have given them will pass away.'?’?' 14Why are we sitting still? Assemble yourselves, and let’s go into the fortified cities And perish there, For the Lord our God has doomed us And given us poisoned water to drink, Because we have sinned against the Lord. 15 We waited for peace, but no good came; For a time of healing, but behold, terror! 16From Dan there is heard the snorting of his horses; At the sound of the neighing of his stallions The whole land quakes; For they come and devour the land and its fullness, The city and its inhabitants. 17'For behold, I am sending serpents among you, Vipers for which there is no charm; And they will bite you,' declares the Lord. 18 My sorrow is beyond healing, My heart is faint within me! 19Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a distant land: 'Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not within her?' 'Why have they provoked Me with their carved images, with foreign idols?' 20'Harvest is past, summer is over, And we are not saved.'King James Version
13I 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.
14Why 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.
16The 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.
17For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.
18When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 8
5Why have these people turned away? Why is Jerusalem always turning away? They take hold of deceit; they refuse to return. 6I have paid careful attention. They do not speak what is right. No one regrets his evil, asking, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone has stayed his course like a horse rushing into battle. 7Even storks in the sky know their seasons. Turtledoves, swallows, and cranes are aware of their migration, but my people do not know the requirements of the Lord. 8"How can you claim, ‘We are wise; the law of the Lord is with us’? In fact, the lying pen of scribes has produced falsehood. 9The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and snared. They have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom do they really have? 10Therefore, I will give their wives to other men, their fields to new occupants, for from the least to the greatest, everyone is making profit dishonestly. From prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. 11They have treated the brokenness of my dear people superficially, claiming, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.
13I will gather them and bring them to an end. This is the Lord’s declaration. There will be no grapes on the vine, no figs on the fig tree, and even the leaf will wither. Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.
14Why are we just sitting here? Gather together; let us enter the fortified cities and perish there, for the Lord our God has destroyed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.
15We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good; for a time of healing, but there was only terror.
16From Dan, the snorting of horses is heard. At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds, the whole land quakes. They come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all its residents.
17Indeed, I am about to send snakes among you, poisonous vipers that cannot be charmed. They will bite you. This is the Lord’s declaration.
18My joy has flown away; grief has settled on me. My heart is sick.
19Listen—the cry of my dear people from a faraway land, "Is the Lord no longer in Zion, her King not within her?" Why have they angered me with their carved images, with their worthless foreign idols?
20Harvest has passed, summer has ended, but we have not been saved.
New Living Translation
Chapter 8
5Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around. 6I listen to their conversations and don’t hear a word of truth. Is anyone sorry for doing wrong? Does anyone say, 'What a terrible thing I have done'? No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle! 7Even the stork that flies across the sky knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. They all return at the proper time each year. But not my people! They do not know the Lord’s laws.
8'‘How can you say, 'We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,' when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies?
9These wise teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness, for they have rejected the word of the Lord. Are they so wise after all?
10I will give their wives to others and their farms to strangers. From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. Yes, even my prophets and priests are like that. They are all frauds.
11They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace.
12Are they ashamed of these disgusting actions? Not at all — they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be brought down when I punish them, says the Lord.
13I will surely consume them. There will be no more harvests of figs and grapes. Their fruit trees will all die. Whatever I gave them will soon be gone. I, the Lord, have spoken!’
14'Then the people will say, ‘Why should we wait here to die? Come, let’s go to the fortified towns and die there. For the Lord our God has decreed our destruction and has given us a cup of poison to drink because we sinned against the Lord.
15We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.’
16'The snorting of the enemies’ warhorses can be heard all the way from the land of Dan in the north! The neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble. They are coming to devour the land and everything in it — cities and people alike.
17I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes you cannot charm. They will bite you, and you will die. I, the Lord, have spoken!'
English Standard Version
Chapter 8
5Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return. 6 I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. 7Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the Lord. 8 "How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie. 9 The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them? 10 Therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields to conquerors, because from the least to the greatest everyone is greedy for unjust gain; from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. 11They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. 12Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the Lord. 13When I would gather them, declares the Lord, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered, and what I gave them has passed away from them." 14Why do we sit still? Gather together; let us go into the fortified cities and perish there, for the Lord our God has doomed us to perish and has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord. 15 We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror. 16 "The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan; at the sound of the neighing of their stallions the whole land quakes. They come and devour the land and all that fills it, the city and those who dwell in it. 17For behold, I am sending among you serpents, adders that cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you," declares the Lord. 18My joy is gone; grief is upon me; my heart is sick within me. 19Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people from the length and breadth of the land: "Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not in her?" "Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images and with their foreign idols?" 20"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."New International Version
Chapter 8
5Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. 6I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, "What have I done?" Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle.
7Even 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 the requirements of the Lord.
8" ‘How can you say, "We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord," when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?
9The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?
10Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.
11They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace.
13" ‘I will take away their harvest, declares the Lord. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them. ’ "
14Why are we sitting here? Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him.
15We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror.
New King James Version