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12     Do they feel any shame for their disgraceful deeds?
        Absolutely not. My very own have forgotten how to blush.
    And so it is that they will fall among the fallen and be defeated:
        when the time comes, they will stumble beneath the weight of My punishment;

13     The harvest will soon be gone, a thing of the past.
        There will be no grapes on the vine, no figs in the tree;
    Even the leaves will wither and fall.
        For what I have given so generously, I will now take away.

Some people in the land believe they know God’s ways, but they don’t. In fact, the ways they twist God’s words and perform empty rituals only make things worse. Over and over again, prophets such as Jeremiah have attempted to describe the devastation that will result from the actions of those who refuse to listen to and really know God. As the invading army comes across the borders, some realize that what God has said—what the prophet has spoken in His name—is all coming true. God may long to bring His people close, to forgive and restore them, but it will not happen. They have refused both His forgiveness and His final warning, and so the enemy from the north is on the move.

14 People: Why are we still sitting here, exposed and waiting for death to come?
        Let’s get together and run to the walled cities and die there.
    We are without hope because the Eternal our God has pronounced our judgment.
        He has given us a cup[a] of bitter poison to drink because we have sinned against Him.

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Footnotes

  1. 8:14 Literally, waters of the head; possibly, salty tears

12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame(A) at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when they are punished,(B)
says the Lord.(C)

13 “‘I will take away their harvest,
declares the Lord.
    There will be no grapes on the vine.(D)
There will be no figs(E) on the tree,
    and their leaves will wither.(F)
What I have given them
    will be taken(G) from them.[a]’”

14 Why are we sitting here?
    Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities(H)
    and perish there!
For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
    and given us poisoned water(I) to drink,
    because we have sinned(J) against him.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.