| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 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. | 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 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. | 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. |
| 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 | 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“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? | 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? |
| 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. | 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 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! | 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 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. | 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 because we have the word of the LORD,” when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies? | 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. |
| 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? | 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? |
| 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. | 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 offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of 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! |
| 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. | 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 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!’ | 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.'" |
| 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. | 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 peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found 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. |
| 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. | 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!" |
| 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 | 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 grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken. | 18Then I said, "There is no cure for my grief! I am sick at heart! |
| 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. | 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 finished, and the summer is gone,” the people cry, “yet 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.' |
| 21I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief. | 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 medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds 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? |
|
