Bible Commentaries

CHAPTER 8

1. The horrors of the invasion (Jeremiah 8:1-3)

2. Hardened hearts and retribution (Jeremiah 8:4-12)

3. Utter destruction threatened (Jeremiah 8:13-17)

4. The prophet’s lamentation (Jeremiah 8:18-22)

Jeremiah 8:1-3. These verses must not be detached from the preceding chapter. The division of chapters is often unfortunate in this book. The invaders from the north would even have digged out the bones of the dead. Kings, priests, prophets and people who had worshipped the sun, the moon and the stars should be exposed and spread out before the sun and moon, remain unburied and become dung. We doubt not that all this was literally done during the Chaldean invasion.

Jeremiah 8:4-12. They did not repent of their wickedness. Theirs was a perpetual backsliding. The stork knows his appointed time; the turtle, the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming, but they had hardened their hearts in such a manner that they knew not the judgment of the Lord. Hence the retribution (Jeremiah 8:9-12) .

Jeremiah 8:13-17. The thirteenth verse shows the desolation which will fall upon the land when the Lord arises. The words of Jeremiah 8:14-16 were spoken by the prophet and not by the impenitent people as some take it. The 16th verse (Jeremiah 8:16) is extremely vivid.

Jeremiah 8:18-22. His heart was faint in him. He is overwhelmed with sorrow. The harvest was passed, the summer gone and they were not saved. It is a mournful outburst.