Death Over Life
1 At 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,
1 At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:
1 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “they will (A)bring out 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 the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves.
1 “At that time”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of her officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves.
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.
2 And 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.
2 And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
2 They will spread them out to the sun, the moon and to all the (B)host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have gone after and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered (C)or buried; (D)they will be as dung on the face of the ground.
2 They will be exposed(A) to the sun, the moon, and the whole heavenly host,(B) which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be collected and buried but will become like manure on the surface of the soil.(C)
2 They'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.
3 And 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.
3 And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.
3 And (E)death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the (F)places to which I have driven them,” declares the Lord of hosts.
3 Death will be chosen over life(D) by all the survivors of this evil family, those who remain wherever I have banished them.” This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.
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.
Yahweh Questions His People
4 And thou hast said unto them: Thus said Jehovah, Do they fall, and not rise? Doth he turn back, and not return?
4 Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?
4 “You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord,“Do men (G)fall and not get up again?Does one turn away and not (a)repent?
4 “You are to say to them: This is what the Lord says:Do people fall and not get up again?(E)If they turn away, do they not return?
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?
5 Wherefore hath this people of Jerusalem Turned back -- a perpetual backsliding? They have kept hold on deceit, They have refused to turn back.
5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
5 “Why then has this people, Jerusalem,(H)Turned away in continual apostasy?They (I)hold fast to deceit,They (J)refuse to return.
5 Why have these people turned away?Why is Jerusalem always turning away?They take hold of deceit;(F)they refuse to return.(G)
5 Why has this people turned away? Why does Jerusalem continue in apostasy? They hold on to deceit and refuse to repent.
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.
6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
6 “I (K)have listened and heard,They have spoken what is not right;(L)No man repented of his wickedness,Saying, ‘What have I done?’Everyone turned to his course,Like a (M)horse charging into the battle.
6 I have paid careful attention.They do not speak what is right.No one regrets his evil,asking, ‘What have I done?’Everyone has stayed his courselike a horse rushing into battle.(H)
6 I'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.
7 Even 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.
7 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.
7 “Even the stork in the sky(N)Knows her seasons;And the (O)turtledove and the swift and the thrushObserve the time of their (b)migration;But (P)My people do not knowThe ordinance of the Lord.
7 Even the stork in the skyknows her seasons.The turtledove, swallow, and crane(a)are aware of their migration,but My people do not knowthe requirements of the Lord.(I)
7 Even 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.
Punishment For Judah's Leaders
8 How do ye say, We are wise, And the law of Jehovah is with us? Surely, lo, falsely it hath wrought, The false pen of scribes.
8 How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.
8 “(Q)How can you say, ‘We are wise,And the law of the Lord is with us’?But behold, the lying pen of the scribesHas made it into a lie.
8 “How can you claim, ‘We are wise;the law of the Lord is with us’?In fact, the lying pen of scribes(J)has produced falsehood.
8 How 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.
9 Ashamed 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?
9 The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
9 “The wise men are (R)put to shame,They are dismayed and caught;Behold, they have (S)rejected the word of the Lord,And what kind of wisdom do they have?
9 The wise will be put to shame;they will be dismayed and snared.They have rejected the word of the Lord,so what wisdom do they really have?
9 The 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?
10 Therefore, 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.
10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
10 “Therefore I will (T)give their wives to others,Their fields to (c)new owners;Because from the least even to the greatestEveryone is (U)greedy for gain;From the prophet even to the priestEveryone practices deceit.
10 Therefore, I will give(K) their wives to other men,their fields to new occupants,for from the least to the greatest,everyone is making profit dishonestly.From prophet to priest,everyone deals falsely.
10 Therefore, 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.
11 And they heal the breach of the daughter of my people slightly, Saying, Peace, peace! and there is no peace.
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
11 “They (V)heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially,Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’But there is no peace.
11 They have treated superficially the brokennessof My dear(b) people,claiming, ‘Peace, peace,’when there is no peace.
11 They have treated my people's wound superficially, telling them, "Peace, peace,' when there is no peace.
12 They 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.
12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
12 “Were they (W)ashamed because of the abomination they had done?They certainly were not ashamed,And they did not know how to blush;Therefore they shall (X)fall among those who fall;At the (Y)time of their punishment they shall be brought down,”Says the Lord.
12 Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently?They weren’t at all ashamed.They can no longer feel humiliation.Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.When I punish them, they will collapse,”(L)says the Lord.
12 Are 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.
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.
13 I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.
13 “I will (Z)surely snatch them away,” declares the Lord;“There will be (AA)no grapes on the vineAnd (AB)no figs on the fig tree,And the leaf will wither;And what I have given them will pass away.”’”
13 I will gather them and bring them to an end.(c)(M)This is the Lord’s declaration.There will be no grapes on the vine,no figs on the fig tree,and even the leaf will wither.Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.
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."'"
The Nation Longs For Yahweh's Help
14 Wherefore 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.
14 Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
14 Why are we sitting still?(AC)Assemble yourselves, and let us (AD)go into the fortified citiesAnd let us perish there,Because the Lord our God has doomed usAnd given us (AE)poisoned water to drink,For (AF)we have sinned against the Lord.
14 Why are we just sitting here?Gather together; let us enter the fortified citiesand perish there,(d)for the Lord our God has destroyed(e) us.He has given us poisoned water to drink,(N)because we have sinned against the Lord.
14 Why 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.
15 Looking for peace -- and there is no good, For a time of healing, and lo, terror.
15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
15 We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good;for a time of healing, but there was only terror.(O)
15 We waited for peace, but no good has come, for a time of healing, but instead there was terror.
16 From 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.
16 The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein.
16 From (AH)Dan is heard the snorting of his horses;At the sound of the neighing of his (AI)stallionsThe whole land quakes;For they come and (AJ)devour the land and its fullness,The city and its inhabitants.
16 From Dan the snorting of horses is heard.At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds,(P)the whole land quakes.They come to devour the land and everything in it,the city and all its residents.
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.
17 For, lo, I am sending among you serpents, Vipers that have no charmer, And they have bitten you, an affirmation of Jehovah.
17 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the LORD.
17 “For behold, I am (AK)sending serpents against you,Adders, for which there is (AL)no charm,And they will bite you,” declares the Lord.
17 Indeed, I am about to send snakes among you,poisonous vipers(Q) that cannot be charmed.(R)They will bite you.This is the Lord’s declaration.
17 Look, I'll send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they'll bite you."
Lament Over Judah
19 Lo, 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?
19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?
19 Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a (AO)distant land:“Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not within her?”“Why have they (AP)provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign (e)(AQ)idols?”
19 Listen—the cry of my dear(f) peoplefrom a far away land,“Is the Lord no longer in Zion,(T)her King not within her?”Why have they provoked me to angerwith their carved images,with their worthless foreign idols?(U)
19 Listen! 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?"
20 Harvest hath passed, summer hath ended, And we -- we have not been saved.
20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
20 “Harvest is past, summer is ended,And we are not saved.”
20 Harvest has passed, summer has ended,but we have not been saved.
20 The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we haven't been delivered.
Yahweh's Lament
21 For a breach of the daughter of my people have I been broken, I have been black, astonishment hath seized me.
21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
21 For the (AR)brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken;I (AS)mourn, dismay has taken hold of me.
21 Because my people are crushed, I'm crushed. I mourn, and dismay overwhelms me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? For wherefore hath not the health of the daughter of my people gone up?
22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
22 Is there no (AT)balm in Gilead?Is there no physician there?(AU)Why then has not the (f)health of the daughter of my people (g)been restored?
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?(W)Is there no physician there?So why has the healing of my dear(h) peoplenot come about? >
22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? So why is there no healing for my people?