Jeremiah

At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:

1The LORD says: At that time, people will pull the bones of Judah's kings and officials out of their graves. They will pull out the bones of the priests, the prophets, and the people of Jerusalem too.

2And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.

2The bones will be spread out under the sun, the moon, and all the stars. Those are the things the people loved, served, followed, asked for help, and worshiped. No one will gather the bones or bury them. They will lie on the ground like manure.

3And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.

3Wherever I have scattered them, the people still left from this evil family will choose death instead of life. This is what the LORD, the God who commands armies, says.

4Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?

4Also tell them this is what the LORD says: When people fall down, don't they get back up? When someone walks away, doesn't he come back?

5Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

5So why do these people of Jerusalem keep turning away and never come back? They hold on tight to lies. They refuse to return.

6I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.

6I listened carefully, but they do not say what is right. No one is sorry for the wrong he did. No one asks, 'What have I done?' Each one runs his own way, like a horse charging into battle.

7Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.

7Even the stork up in the sky knows when it is time to fly away. The turtledove, the swift, and the thrush know when to return. But my people do not know what the LORD asks of them.

NoteThe KJV calls these birds "the turtle and the crane." "Turtle" is short for turtledove, a bird, not a turtle. These are all birds that migrate at the same time each year.

8How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.

8How can you say, 'We are wise, and we have the LORD's law'? Look at what really happened: the lying pens of the scribes turned it into something false.

NoteThe KJV says the law was "made in vain" and "the pen of the scribes is in vain." The point is not that God's law was useless. It is that the scribes, the men who copied and taught the law, used their pens to twist it.

9The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?

9The wise men will be put to shame. They will be shocked and caught like animals in a trap. They have thrown away the word of the LORD, so what wisdom do they really have?

10Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

10So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least important person to the greatest, they all grab for money. Prophets and priests alike all cheat people.

11For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

11My people have a deep wound, and these leaders treat it as if it were nothing. They say, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace at all.

12Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.

12Were they ashamed of the disgusting things they did? No, they felt no shame at all. They did not even know how to blush. So they will fall along with everyone else who falls. When I punish them, they will go down, says the LORD.

13I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.

13I will take away their harvest, says the LORD. No grapes will be left on the vine and no figs on the fig tree. Even the leaves will dry up. What I gave them will be gone.

14Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.

14Why are we sitting here? Let's gather together and run to the cities with strong walls, and die there. The LORD our God has doomed us. He gave us poisoned water to drink, because we sinned against him.

15We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!

15We hoped for peace, but nothing good came. We hoped for a time of healing, but look, only terror came.

16The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.

16From the town of Dan, far to the north, we hear the enemy's horses snorting. The whole land shakes at the neighing of their strong warhorses. They have come to eat up the land and everything in it, the city and everyone living there.

17For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.

17The LORD says: Look, I am sending snakes among you, poisonous ones that no snake charmer can control. They will bite you.

NoteThe KJV word "cockatrices" means poisonous snakes. Some snake handlers claimed they could calm a snake with music or words; these snakes cannot be calmed.

18When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.

18My sadness is too deep to be healed. My heart is weak inside me.

19Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?

19Listen to my people crying out from a land far away: 'Isn't the LORD still in Zion? Isn't her king still there?' The LORD answers, 'Then why did they make me angry with their carved idols and their worthless foreign gods?'

20The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

20The people say, 'The harvest is over. The summer has ended. And we have not been saved.'

21For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.

21My people are broken, so I am broken too. I mourn for them. Horror has taken hold of me.

22Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

22Isn't there any healing ointment in Gilead? Isn't there a doctor there? Then why has my people's wound not been healed?

NoteGilead was a region east of the Jordan River known for a tree sap used as medicine on wounds. Asking if there is balm there is like asking if there is any medicine left anywhere.