Jeremiah 8

Great^{(i) 1} At the same tyme sayeth the Lorde, the bones of the kynges of Iuda, the bones of his prynces, the bones of the prestes & prophetes, yee, & the bones of the cytezins of Ierusalem, shall be brought out of theyr graues ² & layed agaynst the Sunne, the Moone & all the heauenly hoost: whom they loued, whom they serued, whom they ranne after, whom they sought and worshypped. They shall nether be gathered together ner buryed, but shall lye as donge vpon the earth, to theyr shame and despysynge. ³ And all they that remayne of this wycked generacion, shall desyre rather to dye then to lyue: wheresoeuer they remaine, and whereas I scatre them, sayeth the Lord of hostes. ⁴ Thys shalt thou saye vnto them also. Thus sayeth the Lorde. Do men fall so, that they aryse not vp agayne? Or yf Israell repent, wyll not god turne ageyn to them? ⁵ Wherfore then is this people & Ierusalem gone so farre backe, that they turne not agayne? They are euer the longer the more obstinat, and wyll not be conuerted. ⁶ For I haue loked, & consydered: but there is no man that speaketh a good word: there is no man that taketh repentaunce for hys synne, that wyll so moch as saye: wherfore, haue I done thys? But euery man (as soone as he is turned backe) runneth forth styll, lyke a wylde horse in a battayll. ⁷ The Storke in the ayer knoweth hys apoynted tyme, the Turtle doue the Swalow & the Crane consydre the tyme of theyr trauayll, but my people wyll not knowe the tyme of the punyshment of the Lorde. ⁸ How darre ye saye then, we are wyse, we haue the lawe of the Lorde amonge vs? Suerly in vayne hath he prepared his penne, & vaynly haue the wryters wryten it: ⁹ therfore shall the wyse be confounded, they shalbe afrayed & taken: for lo, they haue cast out the worde of the Lorde: what wysdome can then be amonge them? ¹⁰ Wherfore, I wyll geue theyr wyues vnto aleauntes, and theyr feldes to destroyers. For from the lowest vnto the hyest, they folowe all filthy lucre: & from the Prophete vnto the preste, they deale all wt lyes. ¹¹ Neuerthelesse, they heale the hurte of my people very slenderlye, sayenge: peace, peace, where there is no peace at all. ¹² Fye for shame, how abhominable thynges do they? and yet they be not ashamed, yee, they knowe of no shame. Wherfore, in the tyme of theyr visytacion, they shall fall amonge the deed bodyes, & be ouerthrowne sayeth the Lorde. ¹³ Moreouer, I wyll consume them in deade (sayeth the Lord) so that there shall not be one grape vpon the vyne, nether one fygg vpon the fyge tre, and the leaues shalbe plucte of. And the thynge that I haue gyuen them shall be taken from them: ¹⁴ why prolonge we the tyme? Let vs gather oure selues together, and go into the stronge cytie, there shall we be in rest. For the Lorde oure God hath put vs to sylence, & geuen vs water mixte wt gall, to dryncke: because we haue synned agaynst hym. ¹⁵ We loked for peace, & we fare not the better, we wayted for the tyme of health, & lo, here is nothynge but trouble. ¹⁶ The noyse of his horsses is hearde from Dan, the whole lande is afrayed at the neyenge of his stronge horsses: for they are come in, & haue deuoured the lande, wt all that is in it: the cyties, and those that dwell therin. ¹⁷ Moreouer, I wyll sende Cockatrices & serpentes amonge you (which wyll not be charmed) & they shall byte you, sayeth the Lorde. ¹⁸ I wolde haue had comforte agenst sorowe: but sorowe is come vpon me, and heuynes vexeth my hert: ¹⁹ for lo, the voyce of the cryenge of my people is herde for feare of them, that come from a farre countre. Is not the Lorde in Syon? Is not the Kyng, in her? Wherfore then haue they greued me (shall the Lorde saye) wt theyr ymages & foolysh straunge fashyons of a foreyne god? ²⁰ The haruest is gone, the Sommer hath an ende, & we are not helped. ²¹ I am sore vexed, because of the hurte of my people. I am heuy & abashed, ²² is ther no triacle at Gilead? Is ther no physycyon ther? Why then is not the helthe of my people recouered?