¹“At that time ,” says the LORD , “they will bring the bones of the kings of Judah , the bones of his princes , the bones of the priests , the bones of the prophets , and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem , out of their graves .

²They will spread them before the sun , the moon , and all the army of the sky , which they have loved, which they have served , after which they have walked , which they have sought , and which they have worshipped . They will not be gathered or be buried . They will be like dung on the surface of the earth .

³Death will be chosen rather than life by all the residue that remain of this evil family , that remain in all the places where I have driven them ,” says the LORD of Armies .

⁴“Moreover you shall tell them , ‘The LORD says :

“‘Do men fall , and not rise up again ?

Does one turn away , and not return ?

⁵Why then have the people of Jerusalem fallen back by a perpetual backsliding ?

They cling to deceit .

They refuse to return .

⁶I listened and heard , but they didn’t say what is right .

No one repents of his wickedness , saying , “What have I done ?”

Everyone turns to his course ,

as a horse that rushes headlong in the battle .

⁷Yes , the stork in the sky knows her appointed times .

The turtledove , the swallow , and the crane observe the time of their coming;

but my people don’t know the LORD ’s law .

⁸“‘How do you say, “We are wise , and the LORD ’s law is with us ”?

But , behold , the false pen of the scribes has made that a lie .

⁹The wise men are disappointed.

They are dismayed and trapped.

Behold , they have rejected the LORD ’s word .

What kind of wisdom is in them ?

¹⁰Therefore I will give their wives to others

and their fields to those who will possess them .

For everyone from the least even to the greatest is given to covetousness ;

from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely .

¹¹They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly , saying,

“Peace , peace ,” when there is no peace .

¹²Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination ?

No , they were not at all ashamed .

They couldn’t blush .

Therefore they will fall amongst those who fall .

In the time of their visitation they will be cast down , says the LORD .

¹³“‘I will utterly consume them , says the LORD .

No grapes will be on the vine ,

no figs on the fig tree ,

and the leaf will fade .

The things that I have given them

will pass away from them .’”

¹⁴“Why do we sit still ?

Assemble yourselves !

Let’s enter into the fortified cities ,

and let’s be silent there ;

for the LORD our God has put us to silence ,

and given us poisoned water to drink ,

because we have sinned against the LORD .

¹⁵We looked for peace , but no good came;

and for a time of healing , and behold , dismay!

¹⁶The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan .

The whole land trembles at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones;

for they have come , and have devoured the land and all that is in it ,

the city and those who dwell therein .”

¹⁷“For , behold , I will send serpents ,

adders amongst you ,

which will not be charmed ;

and they will bite you ,” says the LORD .

¹⁸Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow !

My heart is faint within me .

¹⁹Behold , the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off :

“Isn’t the LORD in Zion ?

Isn’t her King in her ?”

“Why have they provoked me to anger with their engraved images ,

and with foreign idols ?”

²⁰“The harvest is past .

The summer has ended ,

and we are not saved .”

²¹For the hurt of the daughter of my people , I am hurt .

I mourn .

Dismay has taken hold of me .

²²Is there no balm in Gilead ?

Is there no physician there ?

Why then isn’t the health of the daughter of my people recovered ?