Jeremiah 8:8-13

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?
9 The 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?
10 Therefore 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.
11 They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace.
12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says the LORD.
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.[a] ’ ”

Jeremiah 8:8-13 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.

Cross References 18

  • 1. Romans 2:17
  • 2. S Isaiah 29:14; Jeremiah 6:15
  • 3. S 2 Kings 19:26
  • 4. S Job 5:13
  • 5. S Jeremiah 6:19
  • 6. Proverbs 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:20
  • 7. S Jeremiah 6:12
  • 8. S Isaiah 56:11
  • 9. Jeremiah 14:14; Lamentations 2:14
  • 10. Jeremiah 23:11,15
  • 11. ver 15; S Jeremiah 4:10; Ezekiel 7:25; Jeremiah 6:14
  • 12. S Jeremiah 3:3
  • 13. Psalms 52:5-7; Isaiah 3:9
  • 14. S Jeremiah 6:15
  • 15. Hosea 2:12; Joel 1:7
  • 16. Luke 13:6
  • 17. Matthew 21:19
  • 18. S Jeremiah 5:17

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
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