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.
2. They 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 worshipped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground.
3. Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the Lord Almighty.”
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?
5. Why then have these people turned away?Why does Jerusalem always turn away?They cling to deceit;they refuse to return.
6. I 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 courselike a horse charging into battle.
7. Even the stork in the skyknows her appointed seasons,and the dove, the swift and the thrushobserve the time of their migration.But my people do not knowthe requirements of the Lord.
8. ‘ “How can you say, ‘We are wise,for we have the law of the Lord,’when actually the lying pen of the scribeshas handled it falsely?
9. The 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?
10. Therefore I will give their wives to other menand their fields to new owners.From the least to the greatest,all are greedy for gain;prophets and priests alike,all practise deceit.
11. They dress the wound of my peopleas though it were not serious.‘Peace, peace,’ they say,when there is no peace.
12. Are 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.
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 themwill be taken from them. ” ’
14. Why are we sitting here?Gather together!Let us flee to the fortified citiesand perish there!For the Lord our God has doomed us to perishand given us poisoned water to drink,because we have sinned against him.
15. We hoped for peacebut no good has come,for a time of healingbut there is only terror.
16. The snorting of the enemy’s horsesis heard from Dan;at the neighing of their stallionsthe whole land trembles.They have come to devourthe land and everything in it,the city and all who live there.
17. ‘See, I will send venomous snakes among you,vipers that cannot be charmed,and they will bite you,’declares the Lord.
18. You who are my Comforter in sorrow,my heart is faint within me.
19. Listen to the cry of my peoplefrom 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?’
20. ‘The harvest is past,the summer has ended,and we are not saved.’
21. Since my people are crushed, I am crushed;I mourn, and horror grips me.
22. Is there no balm in Gilead?Is there no physician there?Why then is there no healingfor the wound of my people?