Jeremiah 8:2

2 and they shall lay abroad those bones to the sun, and [the] moon, and to all the knighthood of (the) heaven(s), which they loved, and which they served, and after which they went, and which they sought, and worshipped; they shall not be gathered, and shall not be buried; they shall be into a dunghill on the face of [the] earth. (and they shall lay abroad those bones before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they loved, and which they sought after, and which they worshipped, and served; they shall not be gathered, and shall not be buried; they shall be like a mound of dung upon the face of the earth.)

Jeremiah 8:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 8:2

And they shall spread them before the sun and the moon, and all
the host of heaven
The stars. This shows, not only that they should be publicly exposed; but, as it refers to their idolatrous worship of the sun, moon, and stars, that these deities will not be able to help them; as they could not prevent their dead bodies being dug up, so neither could they order or cause them to be gathered together, and buried again: whom they have loved;
whereas they ought to have loved the Lord their God, and him only: it means an idolatrous love of and affection for them; and not the love of them, as creatures for use and delight; otherwise the light of the sun, moon, and stars, is sweet, and their influence great; and a pleasant thing it is to behold them, and especially the former of them, the fountain of light and heat: and whom they have served; more and besides the Creator of them, whom they should have served, the Lord of hosts, and him only: and after whom they have walked;
not in a natural and literal sense, but in a religious one, as is after explained: and whom they have sought;
for advice and counsel, and by making their prayers and supplications to them: and whom they have worshipped;
by bowing the knee, or kissing the hand; by offering sacrifices, and burning incense, and putting up petitions to them; by trusting in them, and expecting good things from them; see ( 2 Kings 21:3-5 ) ( 23:5 ) ( Jeremiah 7:18 ) ( Ezekiel 8:16 ) : they shall not be gathered, nor be buried:
meaning not the men that should die in those times, but the bones that should be brought out of the graves; these, having been scattered about, should not be collected together again, and replaced in their sepulchres: they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth;
that is, they should lie and rot upon the face of the earth, and crumble into dust, and become dung for it; see ( Psalms 83:10 ) .

Jeremiah 8:2 In-Context

1 In that time, saith the Lord, they shall cast out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of princes thereof, and the bones of priests, and the bones of prophets, and the bones of them that dwelled in Jerusalem, from their sepulchres; (At that time, saith the Lord, they shall cast out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, or of its leaders, and the bones of its priests, and the bones of its prophets, and the bones of those who lived in Jerusalem, from their tombs, or out of their graves;)
2 and they shall lay abroad those bones to the sun, and [the] moon, and to all the knighthood of (the) heaven(s), which they loved, and which they served, and after which they went, and which they sought, and worshipped; they shall not be gathered, and shall not be buried; they shall be into a dunghill on the face of [the] earth. (and they shall lay abroad those bones before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they loved, and which they sought after, and which they worshipped, and served; they shall not be gathered, and shall not be buried; they shall be like a mound of dung upon the face of the earth.)
3 And all men shall choose death more than life, which be residue, either left, of this worst kindred, in all (the) places that be left, to which places I casted them out, saith the Lord of hosts.
4 And thou shalt say to them, The Lord saith these things, Whether he that shall fall, shall not rise again? and whether he that is turned away, shall not turn again?
5 Why therefore is this people in Jerusalem turned away by turning away full of strife? They have taken leasing, and would not turn again (They have taken hold of lies, and would not return to me).
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.