1 A t that time, an affirmation of Jehovah, They bring the bones of the kings of Judah, And the bones of its princes, And the bones of the priests, And the bones of the prophets, And the bones of inhabitants of Jerusalem, Out of their graves,

“At that time,” says the Lord, “they will bring out the bones of the kings and leaders of Judah, the bones of the religious leaders, the bones of the men of God, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem from their graves.

2 A nd have spread them to sun, and to moon, And to all the host of the heavens, that they have loved, And that they have served, And that they have walked after, And that they have sought, And to which they have bowed themselves, They are not gathered, nor buried, They are for dung on the face of the ground.

And they will spread them out to the sun, the moon, and to all the stars of heaven. For these they have loved, and served, and followed, and looked for, and worshiped. The bones will not be gathered or buried. They will be as animal waste on top of the ground.

3 A nd chosen is death rather than life By all the remnant who are left of this evil family, In all the remaining places, whither I have driven them, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts.

And death will be chosen instead of life by all those who are left of this sinful family in all the places where I have driven them,” says the Lord of All. Sin and Its Punishment

4 A nd thou hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah, Do they fall, and not rise? Doth he turn back, and not return?

“You will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Do men fall and not get up again? Does one turn away and not return?

5 W herefore hath this people of Jerusalem Turned back -- a perpetual backsliding? They have kept hold on deceit, They have refused to turn back.

Why then have the people of Jerusalem always turned away from Me? They hold on to what is false, and will not return.

6 I have given attention, yea, I hearken, They do not speak right, No man hath repented of his wickedness, Saying, What have I done? Every one hath turned to his courses, As a horse is rushing into battle.

I have listened and heard, but they have not said what is right. No man turned from his sinful way, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Every one turns to his own way like a horse running into battle.

7 E ven a stork in the heavens hath known her seasons, And turtle, and swallow, and crane, Have watched the time of their coming, And -- My people have not known the judgment of Jehovah.

Even the stork in the sky knows her times. And the turtle-dove, crane, and swallow keep the time of their coming. But My people do not know the Law of the Lord.

8 H ow do ye say, We wise, And the law of Jehovah with us? Surely, lo, falsely it hath wrought, The false pen of scribes.

“How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the Lord is with us’? See, the lying hand of the writers has made it into a lie.

9 A shamed have been the wise, They have been affrighted, and are captured, Lo, against a word of Jehovah they kicked, And the wisdom of what -- have they?

The wise men are put to shame. They are troubled and taken. See, they have turned away from the Word of the Lord, and what kind of wisdom do they have?

10 T herefore, I give their wives to others, Their fields to dispossessors, For from the least even unto the greatest, Every one is gaining dishonest gain, From prophet even unto priest, every one is dealing falsely.

So I will give their wives to others, and their fields to new owners. Because from the least to the greatest, every one is always wanting much. From the man of God to the religious leader, no one can be trusted in what he does.

11 A nd they heal the breach of the daughter of my people slightly, Saying, Peace, peace! and there is no peace.

They have healed the hurt of My people very little, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.

12 T hey were ashamed when they did abomination! Yea, they are not at all ashamed, And blushing they have not known, Therefore, they do fall among falling ones, In the time of their inspection they stumble, said Jehovah.

Were they ashamed because of the hated sin they had done? They were not ashamed at all. They did not even know how to turn red. So they will fall among those who fall. When I punish them, they will be put down,” says the Lord.

13 I utterly consume them, an affirmation of Jehovah, There are no grapes in the vine, Yea, there are no figs in the fig-tree, And the leaf hath faded, And the strength they have passeth from them.

“For sure I will take them away,” says the Lord. “There will be no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the fig tree, and the leaves will dry up. What I have given them will pass away.”

14 W herefore are we sitting still? Be gathered, and we go in to the fenced cities, And we are silent there, For Jehovah our God hath made us silent, Yea, He causeth us to drink water of gall, For we have sinned against Jehovah.

Why are we sitting here? Gather together, and let us go into the strong cities and die there. For the Lord our God has given us up to die. He has given us poison in our water to drink, for we have sinned against Him.

15 L ooking for peace -- and there is no good, For a time of healing, and lo, terror.

We waited for peace, but no good came. We waited for a time of healing, but see, there is much trouble.

16 F rom Dan hath been heard the snorting of his horses, From the voice of the neighings of his mighty ones, Trembled hath all the land, And they come in and consume the land and its fulness, The city and the inhabitants in it.

The noise of his horses is heard from Dan. The whole land shakes at the sound of his war horses. For they come and destroy the land and everything that is in it, the city and those who live in it.

17 F or, lo, I am sending among you serpents, Vipers that have no charmer, And they have bitten you, an affirmation of Jehovah.

“For see, I am sending the worst of snakes against you, poison snakes which cannot be stopped. And they will bite you,” says the Lord.

18 M y refreshing for me sorrow, For me my heart sick.

My sorrow is too much to heal. My heart is weak within me.

19 L o, the voice of a cry of the daughter of my people from a land afar off, Is Jehovah not in Zion? is her king not in her? Wherefore have they provoked Me with their graven images, With the vanities of a foreigner?

Listen! It is the cry of my people from a far away land: “Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not in her?” “Why have they made Me angry with their objects of worship, and with strange gods?”

20 H arvest hath passed, summer hath ended, And we -- we have not been saved.

“Gathering time is past, summer is ended, and we are not saved.”

21 F or a breach of the daughter of my people have I been broken, I have been black, astonishment hath seized me.

I am hurt because my people are hurt. I am filled with sorrow, and fear has taken hold of me.

22 I s there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? For wherefore hath not the health of the daughter of my people gone up?

Is there no healing oil in Gilead? Is there no doctor there? Why then have my people not been healed?