Bible in Basic English
See, I will send snakes and poison-snakes among you, against which the wonder-worker has no power; and they will give you wounds which may not be made well, says the Lord.
Sorrow has come on me! my heart in me is feeble.
The voice of the cry of the daughter of my people comes from a far land: Is the Lord not in Zion? is not her King in her? Why have they made me angry with their images and their strange gods which are no gods?
The grain-cutting is past, the summer is ended, and no salvation has come to us.
For the destruction of the daughter of my people I am broken: I am dressed in the clothing of grief; fear has taken me in its grip.
Is there no life-giving oil in Gilead? is there no expert in medical arts? why then have my people not been made well?
— Jeremiah 8:17-1964, Bible in Basic English
“For, behold, I will send serpents, adders, among you, which will not be charmed; and they shall bite you, says Yahweh. Oh that I could comfort myself against sorrow! My heart is faint within me. Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off: isn't Yahweh in Zion? Isn't her King in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their engraved images, and with foreign vanities? The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt: I mourn; dismay has taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? why then isn't the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”
“The LORD says,“Yes indeed, I am sending an enemy against you that will be like poisonous snakes which cannot be charmed away. And they will inflict fatal wounds on you.” Then I said,“There is no cure for my grief! I am sick at heart! I hear my dear people crying out throughout the length and breadth of the land. They are crying,‘Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her divine King no longer there?’” The LORD answers,“Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?” “They cry,‘Harvest time has come and gone, and the summer is over, and still we have not been delivered.’ My heart is crushed because my dear people are being crushed. I go about crying and grieving. I am overwhelmed with dismay. There is still medicinal ointment available in Gilead! There is still a physician there! Why then have my dear people not been restored to health?”
Why are we seated doing nothing? come together, and let us go to the walled towns, and let destruction overtake us there, for the Lord our God has sent destruction on us, and given us bitter water for our drink, because we have done evil against the Lord.
We were looking for peace, but no good came; and for a time of well-being, but there is only a great fear.
The loud breathing of the horses comes to our ears from Dan: at the sound of the outcry of his war-horses, all the land is shaking with fear; for they have come, and have made a meal of the land and everything in it; the town and the people living in it.
See, I will send snakes and poison-snakes among you, against which the wonder-worker has no power; and they will give you wounds which may not be made well, says the Lord.
Sorrow has come on me! my heart in me is feeble.
The voice of the cry of the daughter of my people comes from a far land: Is the Lord not in Zion? is not her King in her? Why have they made me angry with their images and their strange gods which are no gods?
The grain-cutting is past, the summer is ended, and no salvation has come to us.
For the destruction of the daughter of my people I am broken: I am dressed in the clothing of grief; fear has taken me in its grip.
Is there no life-giving oil in Gilead? is there no expert in medical arts? why then have my people not been made well?