17 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.
17 "See, I will send venomous snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you," declares the Lord.
17 For behold, I am sending among you serpents, adders that cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you," declares the Lord.
17 "'What's more, I'm dispatching poisonous snakes among you, Snakes that can't be charmed, snakes that will bite you and kill you.'" God's Decree! Advancing from One Evil to the Next
17 "For behold, I will send serpents among you, Vipers which cannot be charmed, And they shall bite you," says the Lord.
17 I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes you cannot charm. They will bite you, and you will die. I, the Lord, have spoken!"
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 8:17
Commentary on Jeremiah 8:14-22
(Read Jeremiah 8:14-22)
At length they begin to see the hand of God lifted up. And when God appears against us, every thing that is against us appears formidable. As salvation only can be found in the Lord, so the present moment should be seized. Is there no medicine proper for a sick and dying kingdom? Is there no skilful, faithful hand to apply the medicine? Yes, God is able to help and to heal them. If sinners die of their wounds, their blood is upon their own heads. The blood of Christ is balm in Gilead, his Spirit is the Physician there, all-sufficient; so that the people may be healed, but will not. Thus men die unpardoned and unchanged, for they will not come to Christ to be saved.