Jeremiah 8

CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN	NEW JERUSALEM
1 “In that time, says the Lord, they will cast out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its leaders, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of those who were living in Jerusalem, from their graves.	1 'When that time comes, Yahweh declares, the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its chief men,the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, wil be takenfrom their tombs.
2 And they will spread them out before the sun and the moon and the entire army of the heavens, which they have loved, and served, and followed, and which they have sought and adored. They will not be collected, and they will not be buried. They will be like manure upon the face of the earth.	2 They wil be spread out before the sun, the moon, the whole array of heaven, whom they have loved andserved, fol owed, consulted and worshipped. They wil not be gathered or reburied but will be left lying on thesurface like dung.
3 And they will greatly prefer death to life: all those who will have been left from this wicked kindred, in all the forsaken places to which I will cast them out, says the Lord of hosts.	3 And death will seem preferable to life to al the survivors of this wicked race, wherever I have driventhem, Yahweh Sabaoth declares.
4 And you will say to them: Thus says the Lord: He who falls, will he not rise again? And he who has been turned away, will he not return?	4 'You are to tel them, "Yahweh says this: If someone fal s, can he not stand up again? If people stray,can they not turn back?
5 Then why have this people in Jerusalem turned away with a contentious loathing? They have taken hold of what is false, and they are not willing to return.	5 Why does this people persist in acts of infidelity, why does Jerusalem persist in continuous infidelity?They cling to il usion, they refuse to turn back.
6 I paid close attention and I listened carefully. No one is speaking what is good. There is no one who does penance for his sin, saying: ‘What have I done?’ They have all turned to their own course, like a horse rushing with fury into battle.	6 I have listened attentively: they have never said anything like that. Not one repents of wickednesssaying: What have I done? Each one keeps returning to the course like a horse charging into battle.
7 The hawk in the heavens has known her time. The turtledove, and the swallow, and the stork have kept the time of their arrival. But my people have not known the judgment of the Lord.	7 Even the stork in the sky knows the appropriate season; turtledove, swal ow and crane observe theirtime of migration. But my people do not know Yahweh's laws!" '
8 How can you say: ‘We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us?’ Truly, the lying pen of the scribes has wrought falsehood.	8 How can you say, 'We are wise, since we have Yahweh's Law?' Look how it has been falsified by thelying pen of the scribes!
9 The wise men have been confounded; they were terrified and captured. For they cast aside the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them.	9 The wise are put to shame, alarmed, caught out because they have rejected Yahweh's word. What pricetheir wisdom now?
10 Because of this, I will give their wives to outsiders and their fields to others as an inheritance. For from the least, even to the greatest, they all pursue avarice; from the prophet, even to the priest, they all act with deceit.	10 So I shal give their wives to other men, their fields to new masters, for, from the least to greatest, theyare al greedy for gain; prophet no less than priest, al of them practise fraud.
11 And they healed the destruction of the daughter of my people with disgrace, by saying: ‘Peace, peace,’ though there was no peace.	11 Without concern they dress the wound of the daughter of my people, saying, 'Peace! Peace!' whereasthere is no peace.
12 They have been confounded because they committed abomination. Or rather, they have not been confounded with shame, for they do not know how to blush. For this reason, they will fall among the fallen. In the time of their visitation, they will fall, says the Lord.	12 They should be ashamed of their loathsome deeds. Not they! They feel no shame, they do not evenknow how to blush. And so as others fall, they too wil fal , will be thrown down when the time for punishing themcomes, Yahweh says.
13 When gathering, I will gather them together, says the Lord. There are no grapes on the vine, and there are no figs on the fig tree. The leaves have fallen. And I have given them the things that have passed away.”	13 I shal put an end to them, Yahweh declares, no more grapes on the vine, no more figs on the fig treeonly withered leaves: I have found them people to trample on them!
14 “Why are we sitting still? Assemble, and let us enter the fortified city, and let us remain silent there. For the Lord our God has brought us to silence, and he has given us the water of gall as a drink. For we have sinned against the Lord.	14 Why are we sitting still? Mobilise! Take to the fortified towns and there fall silent, since Yahweh ourGod means to silence us by giving us poisoned water to drink because we have sinned against him.
15 We expected peace, but there was nothing good. We expected a time of health, and behold, dread.”	15 We are hoping for peace -- no good came of it! For the time of healing -- nothing but terror!
16 “From Dan, the snorting of his horses was heard; the entire land was shaken by the voice of the neighing of his fighters. And they arrived and devoured the land and its plenitude, the city and its inhabitants.	16 From Dan you can hear the snorting of his horses; at the neighing of his stal ions the whole countryquakes; they are coming to devour the country and its contents, the town and those that live in it.
17 For behold, I will send among you serpents, king snakes, against which there is no charm, and they will bite you, says the Lord.	17 Yes, now I am sending you poisonous snakes against which no charm exists; and they wil bite you,Yahweh declares.
18 My sorrow is beyond sorrow; my heart mourns within me.	18 Incurable sorrow overtakes me, my heart fails me.
19 Behold, the voice of the daughter of my people from a far away land. Is the Lord not with Zion, and is her king not within her? Then why have they provoked me to wrath by their graven images, and by their strange vanities?	19 Hark, from the daughter of my people the cry for help, ringing far and wide throughout the land! 'IsYahweh no longer in Zion, her King no longer there?' (Why have they provoked me with their idols, with theirfutile foreign gods?)
20 The harvest has passed by, the summer is at an end, and we have not been saved.	20 'Harvest is over, summer at an end, and we have not been saved!'
21 Over the destruction of the daughter of my people, I am contrite and saddened; astonishment has taken hold of me.	21 The wound of the daughter of my people wounds me too, all looks dark to me, terror grips me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Or is there no physician there? Then why has the wound of the daughter of my people not been closed?”	22 Is there no balm in Gilead any more? Is no doctor there? Then why is there no progress in the cure ofthe daughter of my people?
	23 Who wil turn my head into a fountain, and my eyes into a spring of tears, that I can weep day and nightover the slain of the daughter of my people?