4 "You shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord , "Do men fall and not get up again? Does one turn away and not repent ? 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? 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 . 11 "They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially , Saying , 'Peace , peace ,' But there is no peace . 12 "Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done ? They certainly were not ashamed , And they did not know how to blush ; Therefore they shall fall among those who fall ; At the time of their punishment they shall be brought down ," Says the Lord .
13 "I will surely snatch them away ," declares the Lord ; "There will be no grapes on the vine And no figs on the fig tree , And the leaf will wither ; And what I have given them will pass away .""'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 8:4-13
Commentary on Jeremiah 8:4-13
(Read Jeremiah 8:4-13)
What brought this ruin? 1. The people would not attend to reason; they would not act in the affairs of their souls with common prudence. Sin is backsliding; it is going back from the way that leads to life, to that which leads to destruction. 2. They would not attend to the warning of conscience. They did not take the first step towards repentance: true repentance begins in serious inquiry as to what we have done, from conviction that we have done amiss. 3. They would not attend to the ways of providence, nor understand the voice of God in them, verse 7. They know not how to improve the seasons of grace, which God affords. Many boast of their religious knowledge, yet, unless taught by the Spirit of God, the instinct of brutes is a more sure guide than their supposed wisdom. 4. They would not attend to the written word. Many enjoy abundance of the means of grace, have Bibles and ministers, but they have them in vain. They will soon be ashamed of their devices. The pretenders to wisdom were the priests and the false prophets. They flattered people in sin, and so flattered them into destruction, silencing their fears and complaints with, All is well. Selfish teachers may promise peace when there is no peace; and thus men encourage each other in committing evil; but in the day of visitation they will have no refuge to flee unto.