Jeremiah 8:5–9
5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem mslidden back by a perpetual nbacksliding? othey hold fast deceit, pthey refuse to return. 6 I qhearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to rhis course, as the horse srusheth tinto the battle. 7 Yea, uthe vstork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and ythe turtle and zthe crane and zthe swallow observe the time of their coming; but uamy people know not the judgment of the Lord. 8 How do ye say, We are wise, and bthe law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly ||in vain made he it; cthe pen of the scribes is in vain. 9 ||dThe wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and etaken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and †what wisdom is in them?
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — The New International Version (NIV)
5 Why then have these people turned away?
Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;
they refuse to return.
6 I have listened attentively,
but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent of their wickedness,
saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course
like a horse charging into battle.
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?
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — English Standard Version (ESV)
5 Why then has this people turned away
in perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast to deceit;
they refuse to return.
6 I have paid attention and listened,
but they have not spoken rightly;
no man relents of his evil,
saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turns to his own course,
like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
7 Even the stork in the heavens
knows her times,
and the turtledove, swallow, and crane
keep the time of their coming,
but my people know not
the rules 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 shall be put to shame;
they shall be dismayed and taken;
behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,
so what wisdom is in them?
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — New Living Translation (NLT)
5 Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path?
Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back?
They cling tightly to their lies
and will not turn around.
6 I listen to their conversations
and don’t hear a word of truth.
Is anyone sorry for doing wrong?
Does anyone say, “What a terrible thing I have done”?
No! All are running down the path of sin
as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle!
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?
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
5 Why has this people slidden back,
Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast to deceit,
They refuse to return.
6 I listened and heard,
But they do not speak aright.
No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his own course,
As the horse rushes into the battle.
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?
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — New Century Version (NCV)
5 Why, then, have the people of Jerusalem gone the wrong way
and not turned back?
They believe their own lies
and refuse to turn around and come back.
6 I have listened to them very carefully,
but they do not say what is right.
They do not feel sorry about their wicked ways,
saying, “What have I done?”
Each person goes his own way,
like a horse charging into a battle.
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.
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — American Standard Version (ASV)
5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. 6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repenteth him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turneth to his course, as a horse that rusheth headlong in the battle. 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?
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
5 Why hath this people of Jerusalem slidden back with a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. 6 I hearkened and heard: they speak not what is right; there is no man who repenteth him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Every one turneth to his course, like a horse rushing into the battle. 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?
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
5 The people of Jerusalem turned away from me without ever returning.
They still cling to deceit.
They refuse to return.
6 I have paid attention and listened,
but they weren’t honest.
They don’t turn away from their wickedness and ask,
“What have we done?”
They go their own ways like horses charging into battle.
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.
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
5 Why have these people turned away?
Why is Jerusalem always turning away?
They take hold of deceit;
they refuse to return.
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 course
like a horse rushing into battle.
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?
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
5 Why then has this people turned away
in perpetual backsliding?
They have held fast to deceit,
they have refused to return.
6 I have given heed and listened,
but they do not speak honestly;
no one repents of wickedness,
saying, “What have I done!”
All of them turn to their own course,
like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
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?
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
5 Why has this people, Jerusalem, turned away in enduring apostasy?
They have kept hold of deceit, they have refused to return.
6 I have listened attentively,
and I have listened.
They do not speak honestly,
there is no man who regrets his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’
All of them are turning to their ways of running,
like a horse plunging into battle.
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?
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
5 Then why have the people of Jerusalem turned away from me?
Why do they always turn away?
They keep on telling lies.
They refuse to come back to me.
6 I have listened carefully.
But they do not say what is right.
They refuse to turn away from their sins.
No one says, ‘What have I done?’
All of them go their own way.
They are like horses charging into battle.
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?
Jeremiah 8:5–9 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
5 “Why then has this people, Jerusalem,
Turned away in continual apostasy?
They hold fast to deceit,
They refuse to return.
6 “I have listened and heard,
They have spoken what is not right;
No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his course,
Like a horse charging into the battle.
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?