Jeremiah, 8

1. 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:

1. When that time comes - it is Yahweh who speaks - they will bring from the tombs the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of their leaders, priests, prophets and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

2. 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.

2. They will expose them to the Sun and Moon and all the gods of the skies, because they have loved and served them, and they have followed and worshiped them. These bones will not be gathered up to be replaced in tombs but will remain like dung on the ground.

3. 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.

3. Death will be preferable to life for the survivors of this perverse race who remain in places to which I have driven them.

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

4. This is what Yahweh told me, "You will say to them: Doesn't the one who falls get up and the one who goes away return?

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

5. Why then has this people turned away in stubborn rebellion? They make a habit of deceit and refuse to repent.

6. 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.

6. I listened attentively; they did not speak truthfully nor did they repent of their wickedness. No one says: 'What have I done!' They all follow their own course like horses plunging into battle.

7. 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.

7. Even the stork in the sky knows her times; the dove, the swallow and the crane know the time to return, but my people do not know the ordinances of Yahweh.

8. 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.

8. How dare you say: 'We are wise and the Law of Yahweh is with us' when the deceiving pen of the scribe has turned it into a lie?

9. 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?

9. The wise will be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and trapped. Since they have despised the word of Yahweh, what then is left as the basis of their wisdom?

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.

10. That is why I will give their wives to other men, their fields to conquerors, for all of them, the smallest to the greatest, are greedy for gain. All, from the prophet to the priest, practice deceit.

11. For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when [there is] no peace.

11. They treat lightly the wound of my people 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.

12. They should be ashamed of their aborminable deeds. They have no shame and don't even know how to blush. Surely they shall fall along with those who will fall; for I will ask them to account and they will stumble.

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.

13. I will make an end of them - it is Yahweh who speaks - for the vine yields no grapes, the fig tree no figs, even the leaves are withered. I will hand them over to the passersby."

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.

14. "Why do we sit still? Get up! We shall go to the fortified cities to perish there. See, Yahweh our God wants us to die and gives us poisoned water, because we have sinned against him.

15. We looked for peace, but no good [came; and] for a time of health, and behold trouble!

15. We hoped for peace and we see nothing good! for a time of healing, but terror came!

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.

16. From Dan we hear the snorting of his horses; at the sound of the neighing of his stallions the whole earth trembles." - "They are coming to devour the land and all it contains, the city and all who dwell in it.

17. For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which [will] not [be] charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.

17. For I am letting loose against you snakes and adders that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you."

18. [When] I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart [is] faint in me.

18. Sorrow takes hold of me, my heart fails 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?

19. The pleading of the daughter of my people is heard all over the land: Has Yahweh abandoned Zion? Is her king no longer there? -"Why have they provoked me with their images, with their foreign gods?"

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

20. The harvest is over, the summer is past and we have not been saved.

21. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.

21. I am brokenhearted because of my people's misfortune. I am crushed and dismayed.

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?

22. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no healer there? Why is no remedy given to my people?

23.

23. I would that my head were a well of water and my eyes a fountain of tears to weep day and night for the slain of my people.