Jeremiah 8:4

4 "Say to them, 'This is what the LORD says: When someone falls, he gets back up. When someone turns away from me, he returns.

Jeremiah 8:4 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 8:4

Moreover, thou shalt say unto them
The Jews, in Jeremiah's time, in order to leave them inexcusable, though the Lord had before assured that they would not hearken to him, ( Jeremiah 7:27 ) : thus saith the Lord, shall they fall, and not rise?
men, when they fall, endeavour to get up again, and generally they do: shall he turn away, and not return?
when a man turns out of the right way into a wrong one, as soon as he is sensible of his mistake, he returns back; this is usually done among men. This is generally the case in a natural sense, and might be expected in a moral sense; that whereas these people had fallen into sin, they would rise again by repentance; and, having turned from the good ways of God, would soon return again to them.

Jeremiah 8:4 In-Context

2 They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon, and all the stars in the sky. These are the things that they had loved, served, gone after, sought, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered or buried, but they will become manure on the ground.

3 "Then the few who remain from these wicked people will want to die rather than live where I will scatter them," declares the LORD of Armies.

4 "Say to them, 'This is what the LORD says: When someone falls, he gets back up. When someone turns away from me, he returns.

5 The people of Jerusalem turned away from me without ever returning. They still cling to deceit. They refuse to return.

6 I have paid attention and listened, but they weren't honest. They don't turn away from their wickedness and ask, "What have we done?" They go their own ways like horses charging into battle.