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Jeremiah 8

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Judgment on the Idolatrous Dead 1–3

1
At that time, saith Jehovah, 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; ​
2
and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth. ​
3
And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue that remain of this evil family, that remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith Jehovah of hosts. ​

Israel Refuses to Return 4–7

4
Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: Shall men fall, and not rise up again? Shall one turn away, and not return? ​
5
Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. ​
6
I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repenteth him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turneth to his course, as a horse that rusheth headlong in the battle.
7
Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle-dove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the law of Jehovah. ​

The Folly of False Wisdom 8–12

8
How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of Jehovah is with us? But, behold, the false pen of the scribes hath wrought falsely. ​
9
The wise men are put to shame, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of Jehovah; and what manner of wisdom is in them? ​
10
Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall possess 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. ​
11
And they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. ​
12
Were 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 Jehovah.

The Imminent Invasion 13–17

13
I will utterly consume them, saith Jehovah: 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. ​
14
Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us be silent there; for Jehovah our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against Jehovah. ​
15
We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and, behold, dismay! ​
16
The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan: at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones the whole land trembleth; for they are come, and have devoured the land and all that is in it; the city and those that dwell therein. ​
17
For, behold, I will send serpents, adders, among you, which will not be charmed; and they shall bite you, saith Jehovah. ​

Jeremiah's Grief for His People 18–22

18
Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! my heart is faint within me. ​
19
Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off: is not Jehovah in Zion? is not her King in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with foreign vanities? ​
20
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. ​
21
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt: I mourn; dismay hath taken hold on me.
22
Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jeremiah 8

Verse 1

they shall bring out the bones — Five ranks are named: kings, princes, priests, prophets and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are the same company charged in 2:26, 'they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets'. The judgment that falls on the living reaches the dead, who are taken 'out of their graves' (qeber).

Verse 2

all the host of heaven — The law had named this danger: 'when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them' (Deut 4:19). Five verbs of devotion are piled up: loved, served, walked after, sought, worshipped. The bones lie 'for dung', as in 9:22, 16:4 and 25:33.

Verse 3

death shall be chosen rather than life — Moses had set the two before Israel: 'I have set before you life and death… therefore choose life' (Deut 30:19). The 'residue' of this 'evil family', scattered in the places 'whither I have driven them', would choose the other. The decision is made by the survivors after the judgment has already fallen.

Verse 4

Shall they fall, and not arise? — Fallen men normally rise: 'a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again' (Prov 24:16), and 'when I fall, I shall arise' (Mic 7:8). The second question uses the verb shub, to turn, twice: 'shall he turn away, and not return?' The same verb carries v.5 as well, 'slidden back… refuse to return'.

Verse 5

a perpetual backsliding — The word is meshubah, from shub, to turn away; it is Jeremiah's name for Israel's apostasy ('backsliding Israel', 3:6, 3:8). The people 'hold fast deceit' and 'refuse to return', although the LORD had said 'Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings' (3:22).

Verse 7

the stork in the heaven — The stork's name, chasidah, means the kind bird. Four birds keep their seasons: the stork, turtle, crane and swallow. The 'appointed times' (mo'ed) are the word for the LORD's own feasts (Lev 23:2), set times the birds keep and the people do not. Isaiah makes the same comparison: 'The ox knoweth his owner' (Isa 1:3).

Verse 8

the pen of the scribes is in vain — 'In vain' is sheqer, falsehood, the word of 'lying words' in 7:4 and of 'dealeth falsely' in v.10. The people said, 'the law of the LORD is with us', yet the pen of the scribes who wrote it out is called false. Holding the law without obeying it (7:23) left them 'wise' only in their own account.

Verse 9

they have rejected the word of the LORD — 'Rejected' is ma'as, the verb of 'reprobate silver' (6:30) and of 'hath rejected and forsaken' (7:29). The wise men are 'ashamed… dismayed and taken', as Paul writes of the same pattern: 'He taketh the wise in their own craftiness' (1 Cor 3:19, from Job 5:13). 'What wisdom is in them?' answers their claim in v.8.

Verse 10

I give their wives unto others — The loss of wives and fields is the covenant curse: 'Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her… thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof' (Deut 28:30). The verse repeats 6:12–13 almost word for word, with the same charge of covetousness 'from the prophet even unto the priest'.

Verse 11

healed the hurt… slightly — 'Healed' is rapha, from which comes the 'physician' (rophe) of v.22. The 'hurt' is sheber, a breaking (the 'destruction' of 4:6). The verse repeats 6:14. The LORD's own promise is the whole cure: 'I will heal your backslidings' (3:22).

Verse 13

no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree — The LORD had planted Israel 'a noble vine, wholly a right seed' (Jer 2:21). Now the vine has no grapes, the fig tree has no figs, and the leaf fades. Christ found a fig tree with 'nothing thereon, but leaves only' (Matt 21:19), the same picture of leaves without fruit.

Verse 14

water of gall — Rosh is a bitter, poisonous plant. The LORD says in 9:15, 'I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink'. The call to 'enter into the defenced cities' repeats the alarm of 4:5, but here it is made in despair: 'because we have sinned against the LORD'.

Verse 15

We looked for peace, but no good came — The words are repeated in 14:19, 'we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!' The 'peace' had been promised by those who cried 'Peace, peace' (v.11). 'Health' (marpe) is cure or healing, and 'trouble' (be'athah) is fear.

Verse 16

The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan — Nachar, a snorting, occurs only here and in Job 39:20. 'Neighing' (matsholah) occurs only here and in 13:27. The sound comes from Dan, the northern border, as in 4:15. The enemy 'have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein'.

Verse 17

serpents, cockatrices — Tsepha' is a viper. The serpents 'will not be charmed', as in Ps 58:5, 'the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely'. In the wilderness the LORD had 'sent fiery serpents among the people' when they sinned (Num 21:6). Here he again sends serpents, with no charm that can stop their bite.

Verse 18

my heart is faint in me — 'Comfort myself' (mablighith) occurs only here. 'Faint' is davvay, sick or troubled; the same word is in Lam 1:22, 'my sighs are many, and my heart is faint', and in Isa 1:5, 'the whole heart faint'. Jeremiah answers the judgment with his own distress, as in 4:19.

Verse 19

Is not the LORD in Zion? — The cry comes 'because of them that dwell in a far country', and asks whether the LORD and 'her king' are still in Zion. The LORD answers with a question about their 'graven images' and 'strange vanities'; Moses had said, 'they have provoked me to anger with their vanities' (Deut 32:21). Zeph 3:15: 'the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee'.

Verse 20

The harvest is past, the summer is ended — Qayits is summer and also the summer fruit, the 'basket of summer fruit' of Amos 8:1–2, after which the LORD says, 'The end is come upon my people of Israel'. The harvest (qatsir) and the summer fruit have both passed. 'Saved' is yasha, the word of 4:14, 'that thou mayest be saved'.

Verse 22

Is there no balm in Gilead — Gilead was the source of the traders' balm: Ishmaelites 'from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh' came to Joseph's brothers (Gen 37:25). 'Physician' (rophe) is from the verb of 'healed' in v.11. The LORD promises, 'I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds' (30:17), using the same word for 'health' ('arukah).