Jeremiah 8:13-22

13 I gathering shall gather them, saith the Lord; no grape is in the vines, and figs be not in the fig tree; a leaf fell down, and I gave to them those things that be gone out over (them). (I gathering shall gather them, saith the Lord; no grapes be on the vines, and no figs be on the fig trees; a leaf fell down, and those things that I gave to them shall pass away from them.)

14 Why sit we? come ye together, enter we into a strong city, and be we still there; for our Lord hath made us to be still, and gave to us (to) drink the water of gall; for we have sinned to the Lord (for we have sinned against the Lord).

15 We abided peace, and no good was; we abided time of medicine, and lo! dread is. (We waited for peace, but no good came; we waited for a time of respite, and lo! there is only fear.)

16 [The] Gnashing of horses thereof is heard from Dan; all the land is moved of the voice of neighings of his warriors; and they came, and devoured the land, and the plenty thereof, the city, and the dwellers thereof. (The gnashing of his horses is heard from Dan; all the land shaketh at the sound of the neighings of his warriors; and they came, and devoured the land, and its plenty, and the city, and its inhabitants.)

17 For lo! I shall send to you the worst serpents, to which is no charming (which cannot be charmed); and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.

18 My sorrow is on sorrow, mine heart is mourning in me.

19 And lo! the voice of cry of the daughter of my people cometh from a far land. Whether the Lord is not in Zion, either the king thereof is not therein? Why therefore stirred they me to wrathfulness by their graven images, and by alien vanities? (And lo! the sound of the cry of the daughter of my people cometh from a far land. Is the Lord not in Zion, or is its King not there? And so why have they stirred me to anger with their carved images, and their strange vanities?/and their useless foreign gods?)

20 Harvest is passed, summer is ended; and we be not saved.

21 I am tormented, and sorry on the sorrow of the daughter of my people; astonishing held me.

22 Whether resin, that is, a gum of great odour and medicinal, is not in Gilead, either a leech is not there? Why therefore the wound of the daughter of my people is not healed perfectly? (Is there not resin, that is, a medicinal gum of strong odour, in Gilead, or is a physician not there? And so why is the wound of the daughter of my people not perfectly healed?)

Jeremiah 8:13-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 8

In this chapter the prophet goes on to denounce grievous calamities upon the people of the Jews; such as would make death more eligible than life; and that because of their idolatry, Jer 8:1-3 and also because of their heinous backslidings in other respects, and continuance in them, Jer 8:4,5 likewise their impenitence and stupidity, Jer 8:6,7 their vain conceit of themselves and their own wisdom; their false interpretation of Scripture, and their rejection of the word of God, Jer 8:8,9 their covetousness, for which it is said their wives and fields should be given to others, Jer 8:10, their flattery of the people, and their impudence, on account of which, ruin and consumption, and a blast on their vines and fig trees, are threatened, Jer 8:11-13, their consternation is described, by their fleeing to their defenced cities; by their sad disappointment in the expectation of peace and prosperity; and the near approach of their enemies; devouring their land, and all in it; who are compared to serpents and cockatrices that cannot be charmed, Jer 8:14-17 and the chapter is closed with the prophet's expressions of sorrow and concern for his people, because of their distress their idolatry had brought upon them; and because of their hopeless, and seemingly irrecoverable, state and condition, Jer 8:18-22.