NET Bible
"How can you say,“We are wise! We have the law of the LORD”? The truth is, those who teach it have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean."
— Jeremiah 8:8, NET Bible
“How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.”
“How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of Jehovah is with us? But, behold, the false pen of the scribes hath wrought falsely. ”
“How do you say, We are wise, and the law of Yahweh is with us? But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has worked falsely.”
“How do you say: We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Indeed the lying pens of the scribes hath wrought falsehood.”
“How is it that you say, We are wise and the law of the Lord is with us? But see, the false pen of the scribes has made it false.”
“How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.”
Why, then, do these people of Jerusalem continually turn away from me in apostasy? They hold fast to their deception. They refuse to turn back to me.
I have listened to them very carefully, but they do not speak honestly. None of them regrets the evil he has done. None of them says,“I have done wrong!” All of them persist in their own wayward course like a horse charging recklessly into battle.
Even the stork knows when it is time to move on. The turtledove, swallow, and crane recognize the normal times for their migration. But my people pay no attention to what I, the LORD, require of them.
How can you say,“We are wise! We have the law of the LORD”? The truth is, those who teach it have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean.
Your wise men will be put to shame. They will be dumbfounded and be brought to judgment. Since they have rejected the LORD’s message, what wisdom do they really have?
So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.
They offer only superficial help for the hurt my dear people have suffered. They say,“Everything will be all right!” But everything is not all right!