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8:1  “‘The Lord says: At that time they will ·remove [L bring out] from their tombs the bones of Judah’s kings and ·officers [princes], priests and prophets, and the ·people [inhabitants] of Jerusalem.
8:2  The bones will be spread on the ground under the sun, moon, and ·stars [L the hosts of heaven] that the people loved and served and went after and searched for and ·worshiped [bowed down to]. No one will gather up the bones and bury them. So they will be like dung on the ground.
8:3  ·I will force the people of Judah to leave their homes and their land. Those of this evil family who are not dead will wish they were [L Death will be preferred to life by all the remnant of those who remain from this evil clan in all the places where I have driven them], says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].’
8:4  “Say to them [C the people of Judah]: ‘This is what the Lord says: When people fall down, don’t they get up again? And when someone goes the wrong way, doesn’t he turn back?
8:5  Why, then, have the people of Jerusalem gone the wrong way and not turned back? They ·believe their own lies [persisted in deceit/treachery] and refuse to turn back.
8:6  I have ·listened to them very carefully [paid attention and listened], but they do not say what is ·right [honest]. They do not ·feel sorry about their wicked ways [L repent of evil], saying, “What have I done?” Each person ·goes his own way [runs his course], like a horse ·charging [plunging] into a battle.
8:7  Even the storks in the ·sky [heavens] know ·the right times to do things [their appointed times]. The ·doves [turtledoves], ·swifts [or swallows], and ·thrushes [or cranes] ·know [observe] when it is time to ·migrate [return]. But my people don’t know ·what the Lord wants them to do [L the ordinances/judgments of the Lord].
8:8  “‘·You keep saying [L How can you say…?], “We are wise, ·because we have the teachings of the Lord [L and the teachings/laws/instructions of the Lord are with us].” But actually, ·those who explain the Scriptures have written lies with their pens [L the false pens of the scribes have made it a lie].
8:9  These wise teachers ·refused to listen to [L rejected] the word of the Lord, so ·they are not really wise at all [L what wisdom is in them?]. They will be ·ashamed [humiliated]. They will be ·shocked [stunned; astonished] and trapped.
8:10  So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to ·new owners [or conquerors]. Everyone, from the least important to the greatest, is greedy for ·money [unjust gain]. Even the prophets and priests all ·tell lies [act falsely; are deceptive; 6:13].
8:11  They tried to heal my people’s ·serious injuries [fracture] as if they were small wounds. They said, “·It’s all right, it’s all right [L Peace, peace].” But ·really, it is not all right [L there is no peace; 6:14].
8:12  They should be ashamed of the ·terrible way they act [abominations they do], but they are not ashamed at all. They don’t even know how to blush [C about their sins]. So they will fall, along with ·everyone else [L those who fall]. They will ·be thrown to the ground [stumble] ·when [L at the time] I punish them, says the Lord [6:15].
8:13  “‘I will ·take away their crops [L gather them; or bring an end to them], says the Lord. There will be no grapes on the vine and no figs on the fig tree. Even the leaves will dry up. I will take away what I gave them.’”
8:14  “Why are we just sitting here? Let’s ·get [gather] together! We have sinned against the Lord, so he has given us poisoned water to drink. Come, let’s ·run [L go] to the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities. The Lord our God has ·decided that we must die [doomed us], so let’s ·die [meet our doom] there.
8:15  We hoped to have peace, but ·nothing good has come [L there is none]. We hoped for a time when he would heal us, but only terror has come.
8:16  From the land of Dan [C in the far north of Israel, the direction from which the Babylonians attacked], the snorting of its [C the enemy’s] horses is heard. The ·ground [earth] shakes from the neighing of their ·large horses [stallions]. They have come and ·destroyed [L consumed] the land and everything in it, the city and all ·who live there [its inhabitants].”
8:17  “Look! I am sending poisonous snakes [C to attack you]. These ·snakes [vipers] cannot be charmed, and they will bite you,” says the Lord.
8:18  God, ·you are my comfort when I am very sad [L my cheerfulness is gone; grief has come on me] and ·when I am afraid [L my heart is sick].
8:19  Listen to the ·sound [L cry of distress] of ·my people [L the daughter of my people]. They cry from a faraway land: “Isn’t the Lord still in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]? Isn’t ·Jerusalem’s [L its] king still there?” But God says, “Why did the people make me angry ·by worshiping idols [L with their images], useless foreign idols?”
8:20  And the people say, “Harvest time is over; summer has ended, and we have not been ·saved [rescued].”
8:21  Because my people are ·crushed [broken; fractured], I am ·crushed [broken; fractured]. I ·cry loudly [mourn; lament; wail] and ·am afraid for them [L horror has seized me].
8:22  Isn’t there balm [C the resin of the storax tree used as medicine] in the land of Gilead [C southern section of the Transjordan region]? Isn’t there a doctor there? So why ·aren’t the hurts of my people healed [L is there no new skin on the wound of the daughter of my people]?