1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible
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| Jeremiah 8:1 | At that time, saith the Lord, they shall cast out the bones of the kings of Juda, and the bones of the princes thereof, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. | Graves. They might suppose that they would find treasures in them, as the tombs of Semiramis, Cyrus, etc., were thus enriched. This inhumanity seems to have taken place before the last siege, Baruch 2:24. (Calmet) Quaeque carent ventis et solibus ossa Quirini Nefas videre dissipabit insoleas.----- (Horace, epod. 16.) --- Cruelty and avarice cause persecutors to act thus. (Worthington) |
| Jeremiah 8:2 | And they shall spread them abroad to the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and adored: they shall not be gathered, and they shall not be buried: they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth. | |
| Jeremiah 8:3 | And death shall be chosen rather than life, by all that shall remain of this wicked kindred in all places, which are left, to which I have cast them out, saith the Lord of hosts. | |
| Jeremiah 8:4 | And thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord: Shall not he that falleth, rise again? and he that is turned away, shall he not turn again? | Again. Why then do not the people strive to repent? |
| Jeremiah 8:5 | Why then is this people in Jerusalem turned away with a stubborn revolting? they have laid hold on lying, and have refused to return. | |
| Jeremiah 8:6 | I attended, and hearkened: no man speaketh what is good, there is none that doth penance for his sin, saying: What have I done? They are all turned to their own course, as a horse rushing to the battle. | |
| Jeremiah 8:7 | The kite in the air hath known her time: the turtle, and the swallow, and the stork have observed the time of their coming: but my people have not known the judgment of the Lord. | Stork. These birds retire at the approach of winter to warmer climates. In Poland swallows plunge into marshes, like frogs. If instinct teach them to do so, for their preservation, is it not strange that men should be so inconsiderate? |
| Jeremiah 8:8 | How do you say: We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Indeed, the lying pen of the scribes hath wrought falsehood. | Falsehood. The impostors have deceived you, and they are themselves taken prisoners. (Calmet) |
| Jeremiah 8:9 | The wise men are confounded, they are dismayed, and taken: for they have cast away the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them. | Them. Those who understand, and do not observe the law, are not wise. (Worthington) |
| Jeremiah 8:10 | *Therefore will I give their women to strangers, their fields to others for an inheritance: because from the least, even to the greatest, all follow covetousness: from the prophet, even to the priest, all deal deceitfully. Isaias 56:11.; Jeremias 6:13. | Others. Idumeans, etc. Yet most part of the land remained uncultivated. (Calmet) --- The rest, to ver. 13., "they will collect their fruits, says," etc., is supplied by Grabe. (Haydock) |
| Jeremiah 8:11 | And they healed the breach of the daughter of my people disgracefully, saying: Peace, peace: when there was no peace. | |
| Jeremiah 8:12 | They are confounded, because they have committed abomination: yea, rather, they are not confounded with confusion, and they have not know how to blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall; in the time of their visitation they shall fall, saith the Lord. | They are. Or, "are they?" etc. (St. Jerome) --- No, they are too hardened, Jeremias 6:14. |
| Jeremiah 8:13 | Gathering, I will gather them together, saith the Lord: there is no grape on the vines, and there are no figs on the fig-tree, the leaf is fallen: and I have given them the things that are passed away. | Gather into Jerusalem, to be butchered. (Calmet) --- Away. They are now in the greatest distress. (Haydock) --- This probably happened a little before the last siege, Jeremias 14. |
| Jeremiah 8:14 | Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fenced city, and let us be silent there: for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and hath given us *water of gall to drink: for we have sinned against the Lord. Jeremias 9:15. | Silent, in utter destruction, 1 Kings 2:9. We cannot be in a worse condition. |
| Jeremiah 8:15 | *We looked for peace, and no good came: for a time of healing, and behold fear. Jeremias 14:10. | |
| Jeremiah 8:16 | The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan; all the land was moved at the sound of the neighing of his warriors: and they came and devoured the land, and all that was in it: the city and its inhabitants. | Dan, by which the Chaldeans must pass, Jeremias 4:15. Many have hence inferred that antichrist will be the serpent (ver. 17.) of the tribe of Dan, Genesis 49:17. (Calmet) |
| Jeremiah 8:17 | For behold I will send among you serpents, basilisks, against which there is no charm: and they shall bite you, saith the Lord. | Charm. The Chaldeans will not be moved to pity (Menochius) by any words. (Worthington) |
| Jeremiah 8:18 | My sorrow is above sorrow, my heart mourneth within me. | Me. God, Jeremias, the people, or rather Jerusalem bewails her children. (Calmet) |
| Jeremiah 8:19 | Behold the voice of the daughter of my people, from a far country: Is not the Lord in Sion, or is not her king in her? why then have they provoked me to wrath with their idols, and strange vanities? | Sion. Thus the people complain, (Menochius) or God answers them that they had no reason to have recourse to idols for protection. (Calmet) |
| Jeremiah 8:20 | The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. | Saved. Our hopes of redress are vanished. We must still pine away for want of food. (Haydock) --- The siege continues, though we had been assured it would shortly be terminated. (Calmet) --- It commenced January 30, the year of the world 3414. Soon after Nabuchodonosor went to meet Pharao, and having defeated him, returned about June, the year of the world 3415, and after 390 days took the city, 27th of July, the year of the world 3416. (Usher) (Chap. 39:2.) (Calmet) (Ezechiel 4:5.) (Haydock) |
| Jeremiah 8:21 | For the affliction of the daughter of my people I am afflicted, and made sorrowful, astonishment hath taken hold on me. | 1:Jeremias. (Menochius) --- The prophet continues to speak in the next chapter. |
| Jeremiah 8:22 | Is there no balm in Galaad? or is no physician there? Why then is not the wound of the daughter of my people closed? | Balm, (resina) "turpentine," (Calmet) which was much used. (Dioscor. 1:66.) --- Galaad was famous for the best, Jeremias 46:11., and Genesis 37:25. --- Closed? Have I not sent prophets? But they will not be healed. (Calmet) |