CHAPTER 8
“At that
time,”
declares
the LORD,
“the bones
of the kings
of Judah,
the bones
of the officials,
the bones
of the priests,
the bones
of the prophets,
and the bones
of the people
of Jerusalem
will be removed
from their graves.
They will be exposed
to the sun
and moon,
and all
the host
of heaven
which
they have loved,
served,
followed,
consulted,
and worshiped.
Their bones will not
be gathered up
or
buried,
but will become
like dung
lying on
the ground.
And wherever
I have banished them,
the remnant
of this
evil
family
will choose
death
over
life,
declares
the LORD
of Hosts.
So you are to tell
them
this is what
the LORD
says:
‘Do men fall
and not
get up again?
Does one turn away
and not
return?
Why then
have these
people
turned away?
Why does Jerusalem
always turn away?
They cling
to deceit;
they refuse
to return.
I have listened
and heard;
they do not
speak
what is right.
No
one
repents
of his
wickedness,
asking,
“What
have I done?”
Everyone
has stayed
his course
like a horse
charging
into battle.
Even
the stork
in the sky
knows
her appointed seasons.
The turtledove,
the swift,
and the thrush
observe
their time
of migration,
but My people
do not
know
the requirements
of the LORD.
How
can you say,
‘We
are wise,
and the law
of the LORD
is with us?’
But in fact,
the lying
pen
of the scribes
has produced
a deception.
The wise
will be put to shame;
they will be dismayed
and snared.
They have rejected
the word
of the LORD,
so what
wisdom
do they really have?
Therefore
I will give
their wives
to other men
and their fields
to new owners,
for
from the least
to
the greatest,
all
are greedy
for gain;
from the prophet
to
the priest,
all
practice
deceit.
They dress
the wounds
of the daughter
of My people
with very little care,
saying,
‘Peace,
peace,’
when there is no
peace.
Are they ashamed
of their loathsome
conduct?
No,
they have no shame
at all,
not even enough
to blush.
Therefore
they will fall
among the fallen.
When
I punish them,
they will collapse,
says
the LORD.
I will take away their harvest,
declares
the LORD.
There will be no
grapes
on the vine,
nor
figs
on the tree,
and even the leaf
will wither.
Whatever I have given
them
will be lost to them.”
“Why
are we
just sitting here?
Gather together,
let us flee
to
the fortified
cities
and perish
there,
for
the LORD
our God
has doomed us.
He has given us poisoned
water
to drink,
because
we have sinned
against the LORD.
The snorting
of enemy horses
is heard
from Dan.
At the sound
of the neighing
of mighty steeds,
the whole
land
quakes.
They come
to devour
the land
and everything in it,
the city
and all who dwell
in it.”
“For
behold,
I will send
snakes among you,
poisonous vipers
that
cannot
be charmed,
and they will bite
you,”
declares
the LORD.
Listen
to the cry
of the daughter
of my people
from a land far away,
“Is the LORD
no
longer in Zion?
Is her
King
no longer there?”
“Why
have they provoked Me to anger
with their carved images,
with their worthless foreign
idols?”
Is there no
balm
in Gilead?
Is no
physician
there?
Why
then
has the health
of the daughter
of my people
not
been restored?