| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1“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. | 1“In that day,” says the LORD, “the enemy will break open the graves of the kings and officials of Judah, and the graves of the priests, prophets, and common people of Jerusalem. |
| 2They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to 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. | 2They will spread out their bones on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars—the gods my people have loved, served, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like manure. |
| 3And wherever I have banished them, the remnant of this evil family will choose death over life,” declares the LORD of Hosts. | 3And the people of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather than live where I will send them. I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken! Deception by False Prophets |
| 4So 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? | 4“Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the LORD says: “‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back? |
| 5Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. | 5Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around. |
| 6I have listened and heard; they do not speak what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, asking, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone has pursued his own course like a horse charging into battle. | 6I listen to their conversations and don’t hear a word of truth. Is anyone sorry for doing wrong? Does anyone say, “What a terrible thing I have done”? No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle! |
| 7Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush keep their time of migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the LORD. | 7Even the stork that flies across the sky knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. They all return at the proper time each year. But not my people! They do not know the LORD’s laws. |
| 8How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us,’ when in fact the lying pen of the scribes has produced a deception? | 8“‘How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the LORD,” when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies? |
| 9The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have? | 9These wise teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness, for they have rejected the word of the LORD. Are they so wise after all? |
| 10Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit. | 10I will give their wives to others and their farms to strangers. From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. Yes, even my prophets and priests are like that. They are all frauds. |
| 11They dress the wound of the daughter of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all. | 11They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace. |
| 12Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD. | 12Are they ashamed of these disgusting actions? Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be brought down when I punish them, says the LORD. |
| 13I 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.” | 13I will surely consume them. There will be no more harvests of figs and grapes. Their fruit trees will all die. Whatever I gave them will soon be gone. I, the LORD, have spoken!’ |
| 14Why 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. | 14“Then the people will say, ‘Why should we wait here to die? Come, let’s go to the fortified towns and die there. For the LORD our God has decreed our destruction and has given us a cup of poison to drink because we sinned against the LORD. |
| 15We hoped for peace, but no good has come, for a time of healing, but there was only terror. | 15We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.’ |
| 16The 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. | 16“The snorting of the enemies’ warhorses can be heard all the way from the land of Dan in the north! The neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble. They are coming to devour the land and everything in it— cities and people alike. |
| 17“For behold, I will send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” declares the LORD. | 17I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes you cannot charm. They will bite you, and you will die. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Jeremiah Weeps for Sinful Judah |
| 18My sorrow is beyond healing; my heart is faint within me. | 18My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken. |
| 19Listen 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?” | 19Listen to the weeping of my people; it can be heard all across the land. “Has the LORD abandoned Jerusalem? ” the people ask. “Is her King no longer there?” “Oh, why have they provoked my anger with their carved idols and their worthless foreign gods?” says the LORD. |
| 20“The harvest has passed, the summer has ended, but we have not been saved.” | 20“The harvest is finished, and the summer is gone,” the people cry, “yet we are not saved!” |
| 21For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am crushed. I mourn; horror has gripped me. | 21I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief. |
| 22Is there no balm in Gilead? Is no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored? | 22Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people? |
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