Jeremiah 8
1 At that time, saith the Lord, they
shall bring out the bones of the kings of Juda, 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;
2 and they shall spread them out to
the sun, and the moon, and to all the stars, and to all the host of heaven,
which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have
walked, and to which they have held, and which they have worshipped; they
shall not be mourned for, neither shall they be buried; but they shall be for
an example on the face of the earth,
3 because they chose death rather than
life, even to all the remnant that are left of that family, in every place
whither I shall drive them out.
4 For thus saith the Lord, Shall not
he that falls arise? or he that turns away, shall he not turn back again?
5 Wherefore has this my people turned
away with a shameless revolting, and strengthened themselves in their
wilfulness, and refused to return?
6 Hearken, I pray you, and hear: will
they not speak thus, There is no man that repents of his wickedness, saying,
What have I done? the runner has failed from his course, as a tired horse in
his neighing. 7 Yea, the stork in the
heaven knows her time, also the turtle-dove and wild
swallow; the sparrows observe the times of their coming in; but this my people
knows not the judgments of the Lord.
8 How will ye say, We are wise, and
the law of the Lord is with us? In vain have the scribes used a false pen.
9 The wise men are ashamed, and
alarmed, and taken; because they have rejected the word of the Lord; what
wisdom is there in them? 10 Therefore
will I give their wives to others, and their fields to
new inheritors; and they shall gather their fruits,
saith the Lord. 13 There are no
grapes on the vines, and there are no figs on the fig-trees, and the leaves
have fallen off.
14 Why do we sit still? assemble
yourselves, and let us enter into the strong cities, and let us be cast out
there: for God has cast us out, and made us drink water of gall, because we
have sinned before him. 15 We
assembled for peace, but there was no prosperity; for a time of healing, but
behold anxiety.
16 We shall hear the neighing of his
swift horses out of Dan: the whole land quaked at the sound of the neighing of
his horses; and he shall come, and devour the land and the fulness of it; the
city, and them that dwell in it.
17 For, behold, I send forth against
you deadly serpents, which cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you
18 mortally with the pain of your
distressed heart.
19 Behold,
there is a sound of the cry of the daughter of my
people from a land afar off: Is not the Lord in Sion? is there not a king
there? because they have provoked me with their graven
images, and with strange vanities.
20 The summer is gone, the harvest is
past, and we are not saved.
21 For the breach of the daughter of
my people I have been saddened: in my perplexity pangs have seized upon me as
of a woman in travail. 22 And is
there no balm in Galaad, or is there no physician there? why has not the
healing of the daughter of my people taken place?
23 Who will give water to my head,
and a fountain of tears to my eyes? then would I weep for this my people day
and night, even for the slain of the daughter of my
people.