| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1"At that time"--this is the LORD's declaration--"the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of her officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves. | 1The LORD says, "When that time comes, the bones of the kings of Judah and its leaders, the bones of the priests and prophets and of all the other people who lived in Jerusalem will be dug up from their graves. |
| 2They will be exposed to the sun, the moon, and the whole heavenly host, which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be collected and buried but will become like manure on the surface of the soil. | 2They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. These are things they adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. |
| 3Death will be chosen over life by all the survivors of this evil family, those who remain wherever I have banished them." This is the declaration of the LORD of Hosts. | 3However, I will leave some of these wicked people alive and banish them to other places. But wherever these people who survive may go, they will wish they had died rather than lived," says the LORD who rules over all. |
| 4"You are to say to them: This is what the LORD says: Do people fall and not get up again? If they turn away, do they not return? | 4The LORD said to me, "Tell them, 'The LORD says, Do people not get back up when they fall down? Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way? |
| 5Why have these people turned away? Why is Jerusalem always turning away? They take hold of deceit; they refuse to return. | 5Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem continually turn away from me in apostasy? They hold fast to their deception. They refuse to turn back to me. |
| 6I have paid careful attention. They do not speak what is right. No one regrets his evil, asking, 'What have I done?' Everyone has stayed his course like a horse rushing into battle. | 6I have listened to them very carefully, but they do not speak honestly. None of them regrets the evil he has done. None of them says, "I have done wrong!" All of them persist in their own wayward course like a horse charging recklessly into battle. |
| 7Even the stork in the sky knows her seasons. The turtledove, swallow, and crane are aware of their migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the LORD. | 7Even the stork knows when it is time to move on. The turtledove, swallow, and crane recognize the normal times for their migration. But my people pay no attention to what I, the LORD, require of them. |
| 8"How can you claim, 'We are wise; the law of the LORD is with us? In fact, the lying pen of scribes has produced falsehood. | 8How can you say, "We are wise! We have the law of the LORD"? The truth is, those who teach it have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean. |
| 9The 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? | 9Your wise men will be put to shame. They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have? |
| 10Therefore, I will give their wives to other men, their fields to new occupants, for from the least to the greatest, everyone is making profit dishonestly. From prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. | 10So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. |
| 11They have treated superficially the brokenness of My dear people, claiming, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. | 11They offer only superficial help for the hurt my dear people have suffered. They say, "Everything will be all right!" But everything is not all right! |
| 12Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently? They weren't at all ashamed. They can no longer feel humiliation. Therefore, they will fall among the fallen. When I punish them, they will collapse," says the LORD. | 12Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting things? No, they are not at all ashamed! They do not even know how to blush! So they will die just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them, says the LORD. |
| 13I will gather them and bring them to an end. This is the LORD's declaration. There will be no grapes on the vine, no figs on the fig tree, and even the leaf will wither. Whatever I have given them will be lost to them. | 13I will take away their harvests, says the LORD. There will be no grapes on their vines. There will be no figs on their fig trees. Even the leaves on their trees will wither. The crops that I gave them will be taken away.'" |
| 14Why are we just sitting here? Gather together; let us enter the fortified cities and perish there, for the LORD our God has destroyed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD. | 14The people say, "Why are we just sitting here? Let us gather together inside the fortified cities. Let us at least die there fighting, since the LORD our God has condemned us to die. He has condemned us to drink the poison waters of judgment because we have sinned against him. |
| 15We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good; for a time of healing, but there was only terror. | 15We hoped for good fortune, but nothing good has come of it. We hoped for a time of relief, but instead we experience terror. |
| 16From Dan the snorting of horses is heard. 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 its residents. | 16The snorting of the enemy's horses is already being heard in the city of Dan. The sound of the neighing of their stallions causes the whole land to tremble with fear. They are coming to destroy the land and everything in it! They are coming to destroy the cities and everyone who lives in them!" |
| 17Indeed, I am about to send snakes among you, poisonous vipers that cannot be charmed. They will bite you. This is the LORD's declaration. | 17The LORD says, "Yes indeed, I am sending an enemy against you that will be like poisonous snakes which cannot be charmed away. And they will inflict fatal wounds on you." |
| 18My joy has flown away; grief has settled on me. My heart is sick. | 18Then I said, "There is no cure for my grief! I am sick at heart! |
| 19Listen--the cry of my dear people from a far away land, "Is the LORD no longer in Zion, her King not within her?" Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images, with their worthless foreign idols? | 19I hear my dear people crying out throughout the length and breadth of the land. They are crying, 'Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her divine King no longer there?'" The LORD answers, "Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?" |
| 20Harvest has passed, summer has ended, but we have not been saved. | 20"They cry, 'Harvest time has come and gone, and the summer is over, and still we have not been delivered.' |
| 21I am broken by the brokenness of my dear people. I mourn; horror has taken hold of me. | 21My heart is crushed because my dear people are being crushed. I go about crying and grieving. I am overwhelmed with dismay. |
| 22Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? So why has the healing of my dear people not come about? | 22There is still medicinal ointment available in Gilead! There is still a physician there! Why then have my dear people not been restored to health? |
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