| New International Version | NET Bible |
| 1"'At that time, declares the LORD, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from 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 and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground. | 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. |
| 3Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the LORD Almighty.' | 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"Say to them, 'This is what the LORD says: "'When people fall down, do they not get up? When someone turns 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 then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to 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 listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, "What have I done?" Each pursues their own course like a horse charging 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 appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time 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 say, "We are wise, for we have the law of the LORD," when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? | 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 trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they 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 and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. | 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 dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. "Peace, peace," they say, 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! |
| 12Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, 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. |
| 13"'I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from 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 sitting here? Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the LORD our God has doomed us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him. | 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 no good has come, for a time of healing but there is 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. |
| 16The snorting of the enemy's horses is heard from Dan; at the neighing of their stallions the whole land trembles. They have come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who live there. | 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!" |
| 17"See, I will send venomous snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you," declares the LORD. | 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." |
| 18You who are my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me. | 18Then I said, "There is no cure for my grief! I am sick at heart! |
| 19Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: "Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King no longer there?" "Why have they aroused my anger with their 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?" |
| 20"The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved." | 20"They cry, 'Harvest time has come and gone, and the summer is over, and still we have not been delivered.' |
| 21Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips 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? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people? | 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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