Jeremiah 8:13–22

¹³“ ‘I would have gathered their harvest,’ ” declares the Lord, 

“ ‘but there are no grapes on the vine. 

There are no figs on the tree, 

and the leaves have dried up. 

What I have given them will be taken away.’ ” 

¹⁴Why are we just sitting here? Let’s get up! 

Let’s go into the fortified cities and die there. 

The Lord our God has condemned us to die. 

He has given us poison to drink 

because we have sinned against the Lord. 

¹⁵We hoped for peace, but nothing good has happened. 

We hoped for a time of healing, but there’s only terror. 

¹⁶The snorting of horses can be heard from Dan. 

The neighing of stallions makes the whole land tremble. 

They are coming to devour the land and everything in it, 

the city and its people. 

¹⁷“I am going to send snakes among you, 

vipers that can’t be charmed. 

They will bite you,” declares the Lord. 

Jeremiah’s Grief over His People’s Punishment

¹⁸Sorrow has overwhelmed me. 

I am sick at heart! 

¹⁹The cry from my dear people comes from a distant land: 

“Isn’t the Lord in Zion? 

Isn’t Zion’s king still there?” 

They make me furious with their idols, with their foreign gods. 

²⁰The harvest is past, 

the summer has ended, 

and we haven’t been saved. 

²¹I am crushed because my dear people have been crushed. 

I mourn; terror grips me. 

²²Isn’t there medicine in Gilead? 

Aren’t there doctors there? 

Then why hasn’t the health of my dear people been restored?