| International Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1"At that time," declares the LORD, "the bones of the king of Judah, the bones of his officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves. | 1The LORD says, "When that time comes, the bones of the kings of Judah and its leaders, the bones of the priests and prophets and of all the other people who lived in Jerusalem will be dug up from their graves. |
| 2They'll be spread out to the sun, the moon, and all the stars of the heavens, which they loved and served, and which they followed, consulted, and worshipped. Their bones won't be collected, nor will they be buried. They'll be like dung on the surface of the ground. | 2They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. These are things they adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. |
| 3"In all the places where the people remain, where I've banished them, death will be chosen over life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. | 3However, I will leave some of these wicked people alive and banish them to other places. But wherever these people who survive may go, they will wish they had died rather than lived," says the LORD who rules over all. |
| 4"You are to say to them, 'This is what the LORD says: "Will a person fall down and then not get up? Will someone turn away and then not turn back again? | 4The LORD said to me, "Tell them, 'The LORD says, Do people not get back up when they fall down? Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way? |
| 5Why has this people turned away? Why does Jerusalem continue in apostasy? They hold on to deceit and refuse to repent. | 5Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem continually turn away from me in apostasy? They hold fast to their deception. They refuse to turn back to me. |
| 6I've listened and I've heard, and what they say is not right. No one repents of his evil and says, 'What have I done?' "They all turn to their own course like a horse racing into battle. | 6I have listened to them very carefully, but they do not speak honestly. None of them regrets the evil he has done. None of them says, "I have done wrong!" All of them persist in their own wayward course like a horse charging recklessly into battle. |
| 7Even the stork in the sky knows its seasons, and the dove, the swallow, and the crane observe the time for migration. But my people don't know the requirements of the LORD. | 7Even the stork knows when it is time to move on. The turtledove, swallow, and crane recognize the normal times for their migration. But my people pay no attention to what I, the LORD, require of them. |
| 8How can you say, 'We're wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us,' when, in fact, the deceitful pen of the scribe has made it into something that deceives. | 8How can you say, "We are wise! We have the law of the LORD"? The truth is, those who teach it have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean. |
| 9The wise men will be put to shame. They'll be dismayed and taken captive. Look, they have rejected the message from the LORD! So what kind of wisdom do they have? | 9Your wise men will be put to shame. They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what wisdom do they really have? |
| 10Therefore, I'll give their wives to others, and their fields to new owners. Indeed, from the least important to the most important, they're all greedy for dishonest gain. From prophet to priest, they all act deceitfully. | 10So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. |
| 11They have treated my people's wound superficially, telling them, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. | 11They offer only superficial help for the hurt my dear people have suffered. They say, "Everything will be all right!" But everything is not all right! |
| 12Are they ashamed because they have done what is repugnant to God? They weren't ashamed at all; they don't even know how to blush! Therefore they'll fall with those who fall. When I punish them, they'll be brought down," says the LORD. | 12Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting things? No, they are not at all ashamed! They do not even know how to blush! So they will die just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them, says the LORD. |
| 13"I would have gathered them," declares the LORD, "but there were no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the fig tree, and their leaves were withered. What I've given them has been taken away."'" | 13I will take away their harvests, says the LORD. There will be no grapes on their vines. There will be no figs on their fig trees. Even the leaves on their trees will wither. The crops that I gave them will be taken away.'" |
| 14Why are we sitting here? Join together! Let's go to the fortified cities and perish there! For the LORD our God has condemned us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him. | 14The people say, "Why are we just sitting here? Let us gather together inside the fortified cities. Let us at least die there fighting, since the LORD our God has condemned us to die. He has condemned us to drink the poison waters of judgment because we have sinned against him. |
| 15We waited for peace, but no good has come, for a time of healing, but instead there was terror. | 15We hoped for good fortune, but nothing good has come of it. We hoped for a time of relief, but instead we experience terror. |
| 16"The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan. At the neighing of their stallions, the whole earth quakes. They're coming to devour the land and all it contains, the city and all who live in it. | 16The snorting of the enemy's horses is already being heard in the city of Dan. The sound of the neighing of their stallions causes the whole land to tremble with fear. They are coming to destroy the land and everything in it! They are coming to destroy the cities and everyone who lives in them!" |
| 17Look, I'll send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they'll bite you." | 17The LORD says, "Yes indeed, I am sending an enemy against you that will be like poisonous snakes which cannot be charmed away. And they will inflict fatal wounds on you." |
| 18Incurable sorrow has overwhelmed me, my heart is sick within me. | 18Then I said, "There is no cure for my grief! I am sick at heart! |
| 19Listen! My people cry from a distant land: "Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her king no longer there?" "Why did they provoke me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign gods?" | 19I hear my dear people crying out throughout the length and breadth of the land. They are crying, 'Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her divine King no longer there?'" The LORD answers, "Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?" |
| 20The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we haven't been delivered. | 20"They cry, 'Harvest time has come and gone, and the summer is over, and still we have not been delivered.' |
| 21Because my people are crushed, I'm crushed. I mourn, and dismay overwhelms me. | 21My heart is crushed because my dear people are being crushed. I go about crying and grieving. I am overwhelmed with dismay. |
| 22Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? So why is there no healing for my people? | 22There is still medicinal ointment available in Gilead! There is still a physician there! Why then have my dear people not been restored to health? |
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