Jeremiah 8:7–10

7 Even the stork in the sky

knows her appointed seasons,

and the dove, the swift and the thrush

observe the time of their migration.

But my people do not know

the requirements of the Lord.

8 “ ‘How can you say, “We are wise,

for we have the law of the Lord,”

when actually the lying pen of the scribes

has handled it falsely?

9 The wise will be put to shame;

they will be dismayed and trapped.

Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,

what kind of wisdom do they have?

10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men

and their fields to new owners.

From the least to the greatest,

all are greedy for gain;

prophets and priests alike,

all practice deceit.

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. 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. 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? 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.

7 Even the stork that flies across the sky

knows the time of her migration,

as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane.

They all return at the proper time each year.

But not my people!

They do not know the Lord’s laws.

8 “ ‘How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,”

when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies?

9 These wise teachers will fall

into the trap of their own foolishness,

for they have rejected the word of the Lord.

Are they so wise after all?

10 I will give their wives to others

and their farms to strangers.

From the least to the greatest,

their lives are ruled by greed.

Yes, even my prophets and priests are like that.

They are all frauds.

7 “Even the stork in the heavens

Knows her appointed times;

And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow

Observe the time of their coming.

But My people do not know the judgment of the Lord.

8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise,

And the law of the Lord is with us’?

Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.

9 The wise men are ashamed,

They are dismayed and taken.

Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord;

So what wisdom do they have?

10 Therefore I will give their wives to others,

And their fields to those who will inherit them;

Because from the least even to the greatest

Everyone is given to covetousness;

From the prophet even to the priest

Everyone deals falsely.

7 Even the birds in the sky

know the right times to do things.

The storks, doves, swifts, and thrushes

know when it is time to migrate.

But my people don’t know

what the Lord wants them to do.

8 “ ‘You keep saying, “We are wise,

because we have the teachings of the Lord.”

But actually, those who explain the Scriptures

have written lies with their pens.

9 These wise teachers refused to listen to the word of the Lord,

so they are not really wise at all.

They will be ashamed.

They will be shocked and trapped.

10 So I will give their wives to other men

and their fields to new owners.

Everyone, from the least important to the greatest,

is greedy for money.

Even the prophets and priests

all tell lies.

7 Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle-dove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the law of Jehovah.

8 How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of Jehovah is with us? But, behold, the false pen of the scribes hath wrought falsely. 9 The wise men are put to shame, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of Jehovah; and what manner of wisdom is in them? 10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall possess 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.

7 Even a stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times, and the turtle-dove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of Jehovah. 8 How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of Jehovah is with us? Behold, certainly the lying pen of the scribes hath made it falsehood. 9 The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: behold, they have rejected Jehovah’s word; and what wisdom is in them? 10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, their fields to those that shall possess 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.

7 Even storks know when it’s time to return. 

Mourning doves, swallows, and cranes know 

when it’s time to migrate. 

But my people don’t know 

that I, the Lord, am urging them to return. 

8 “ ‘How can you say that you are wise 

and that you have the Lord’s teachings? 

The scribes have used their pens to turn these teachings into lies. 

9 Wise people are put to shame, confused, and trapped. 

They have rejected the Lord’s word. 

They don’t really have any wisdom. 

10 That is why I will give their wives to other men 

and their fields to new owners. 

All of them, from the least important to the most important, 

are eager to make money dishonestly. 

All of them, from prophets to priests, act deceitfully. 

7 Even the stork in the sky

knows her seasons.

The turtledove, swallow, and crane

are aware of their migration,

but My people do not know

the requirements of the Lord.

8 “How can you claim, ‘We are wise;

the law of the Lord is with us’?

In fact, the lying pen of scribes

has produced falsehood.

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?

10 Therefore, I will give 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.

7 Even the stork in the heavens

knows its times,

and the turtledove, swallow, and crane

observe the time of their coming,

but my people do not know

the ordinance of the Lord.

8 How can you say, “We are wise,

and the law of the Lord is with us,”

when, in fact, the false pen of the scribes

has made it into a lie?

9 The wise shall be put to shame;

they shall be dismayed and taken;

since they have rejected the word of the Lord,

what wisdom is in them?

10 Therefore I will give their wives to others

and their fields to conquerors,

because from the least to the greatest

everyone is greedy for unjust gain;

from prophet to priest,

everyone deals falsely.

7 Even the stork in heaven knows its appointed time,

and the turtledove, and the swallow, and the song bird,

they observe the time of their coming.

But my people do not know the ordinance of Yahweh.

8 How can you say, ‘We are wise and the law of Yahweh is with us’?

Look, surely the lying stylus of the scribes has made it a lie.

9 The wise will be put to shame,

they will be dismayed,

and they will get taken.

Look, they have rejected the word of Yahweh,

and what is wisdom to them?

10 Therefore I will give their wives to others,

their fields to conquerors,

because from the smallest to the greatest,

all of them make profit for unlawful gain,

from prophet to priest,

all of them practice deceit.

7 Storks know when to fly south.

So do doves, swifts and thrushes.

But my people do not know

what I require them to do.

8 “ ‘ “How can you people say, ‘We are wise.

We have the law of the Lord’?

Actually, the teachers of the law have told lies about it.

Their pens have not written what is true.

9 Those who think they are wise will be put to shame.

They will become terrified. They will be trapped.

They have not accepted my message.

So what kind of wisdom do they have?

10 I will give their wives to other men.

I will give their fields to new owners.

Everyone wants to get richer and richer,

from the least important of them to the most important.

Prophets and priests alike

try to fool everyone they can.

7 “Even the stork in the sky

Knows her seasons;

And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush

Observe the time of their migration;

But My people do not know

The ordinance of the Lord.

8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise,

And the law of the Lord is with us’?

But behold, the lying pen of the scribes

Has made it into a lie.

9 “The wise men are put to shame,

They are dismayed and caught;

Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,

And what kind of wisdom do they have?

10 “Therefore I will give their wives to others,

Their fields to new owners;

Because from the least even to the greatest

Everyone is greedy for gain;

From the prophet even to the priest

Everyone practices deceit.