Jeremiah 8:1-11

1 "'The Lord says: At that time they will remove from their tombs the bones of Judah's kings and officers, priests and prophets, and the people of Jerusalem.

2 The bones will be spread on the ground under the sun, moon, and stars that the people loved and served and went after and searched for and worshiped. No one will gather up the bones and bury them. So they will be like dung thrown on the ground.

3 I will force the people of Judah to leave their homes and their land. Those of this evil family who are not dead will wish they were, says the Lord All-Powerful.'

4 "Say to the people of Judah: 'This is what the Lord says: When people fall down, don't they get up again? And when someone goes the wrong way, doesn't he turn back?

5 Why, then, have the people of Jerusalem gone the wrong way and not turned back? They believe their own lies and refuse to turn around and come back.

6 I have listened to them very carefully, but they do not say what is right. They do not feel sorry about their wicked ways, saying, "What have I done?" Each person goes his own way, like a horse charging into a battle.

7 Even the birds in the sky know the right times to do things. The storks, doves, swifts, and thrushes know when it is time to migrate. But my people don't know what the Lord wants them to do.

8 "'You keep saying, "We are wise, because we have the teachings of the Lord." But actually, those who explain the Scriptures have written lies with their pens.

9 These wise men refused to listen to the word of the Lord, so they are not really wise at all. They will be ashamed. They will be shocked and trapped.

10 So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. Everyone, from the least important to the greatest, is greedy for money. Even the prophets and priests all tell lies.

11 They tried to heal my people's serious injuries as if they were small wounds. They said, "It's all right, it's all right." But really, it is not all right.

Jeremiah 8:1-11 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.