by[See ver. 14 above]
bz[See ver. 12 above]

Jeremiah 8

1“At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs. 2And they shall be spread abefore the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, which they have gone after, and which they have sought and worshiped. bAnd they shall not be gathered or buried. cThey shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. 3 dDeath shall be preferred to life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family ein all the places where I have driven them, declares the Lord of hosts.

Sin and Treachery

4 “You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord:
fWhen men fall, do they not rise again?
If one turns away, does he not return?
5Why then has this people gturned away
in perpetual hbacksliding?
iThey hold fast to deceit;
they refuse to return.
6 jI 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,
klike a horse plunging headlong into battle.
7Even the stork in the heavens
knows her times,
and lthe turtledove, mswallow, and crane
The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain

keep the time of their coming,
obut my people know not
the rules
Or just decrees
of the Lord.
8 qHow 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 rThe wise men shall be put to shame;
they shall be dismayed sand taken;
behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,
so what wisdom is in them?
10 tTherefore I will give their wives to others
and their fields to conquerors,
because from the least to the greatest
everyone uis greedy for unjust gain;
from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
11They have healed vthe wound of my people lightly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
12Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, wthey were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
xTherefore 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 yno grapes on the vine,
znor figs on the fig tree;
aaeven the leaves are withered,
and what I gave them has passed away from them.”
The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

14 Why do we sit still?
acGather together; adlet us go into the fortified cities
and perish there,
for the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
and has aegiven us afpoisoned water to drink,
because we have sinned against the Lord.
15 agWe looked for peace, but no good came;
for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
16 ah“The snorting of their horses is heard aifrom Dan;
at the sound of the neighing ajof their stallions
akthe whole land quakes.
They come aland devour the land and all that fills it,
the city and those who dwell in it.
17For behold, I am sending among you amserpents,
adders anthat cannot be charmed,
aoand they shall bite you,”

declares the Lord.

Jeremiah Grieves for His People

18 My joy is gone; grief is upon me;
Compare Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain

aqmy heart is sick within me.
19Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people
from arthe length and breadth of the land:
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
asIs her King not in her?”
at“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.”
21For the wound of authe daughter of my people is my heart wounded;
avI mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.
22 Is there no awbalm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of the daughter of my people
not been restored?

Jeremiah 14

Famine, Sword, and Pestilence

1The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning axthe drought:

2 ayJudah mourns,
and azher gates languish;
her people lament on the ground,
and bathe cry of Jerusalem goes up.
3Her nobles send their servants for water;
they come to the cisterns;
they find no water;
they return with their vessels empty;
they are bbashamed and confounded
and bccover their heads.
4Because of the ground that is dismayed,
since there is bdno rain on the land,
the farmers are ashamed;
they cover their heads.
5Even bethe doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
6 bfThe wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;
they pant for air like jackals;
their eyes fail
because there is no vegetation.
7 Though our iniquities testify against us,
act, O Lord, bgfor your name’s sake;
bhfor our backslidings are many;
biwe have sinned against you.
8 bjO you hope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
9Why should you be like a man confused,
bklike a mighty warrior who cannot save?
Yet blyou, O Lord, are in the midst of us,
and bmwe are called by your name;
bndo not leave us.”
10 Thus says the Lord concerning this people:
“They have loved to wander thus;
they have not restrained their feet;
botherefore the Lord does not accept them;
bpnow he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.”
11The Lord said to me: bq“Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, brand though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them bsby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

Lying Prophets

13Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets btsay to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” 14And the Lord said to me: “The buprophets are prophesying lies in my name. bvI did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, bwworthless divination, and bxthe deceit of their own minds. 15Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although byI did not send them, and who say, bzSword and famine shall not come upon this land’: caBy sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, cbwith none to bury themthem, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.

17 “You shall say to them this word:
cc‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for the virgin cddaughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,
cewith a very grievous blow.
18 cfIf I go out into the field,
behold, those pierced by the sword!
cgAnd if I enter the city,
behold, the diseases of famine!
chFor both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land
and have no knowledge.’”
19 ciHave you utterly rejected Judah?
Does your soul loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
cjso that there is no healing for us?
ckWe looked for peace, but no good came;
clfor a time of healing, but behold, terror.
20 cmWe acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
and the iniquity of our fathers,
cnfor we have sinned against you.
21Do not spurn us, cofor your name’s sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
cpremember and do not break your covenant with us.
22Are there any among cqthe false gods of the nations crthat can bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
csfor you do all these things.
Copyright information for ESV