4 "Say to them, 'This is what the Lord says: " 'When people fall down, do they not get up? When someone turns away, do they not return?
4 Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?
4 "You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does he not return?
4 "Tell them this, God's Message: "'Do people fall down and not get up? Or take the wrong road and then just keep going?
4 "Moreover you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord: "Will they fall and not rise? Will one turn away and not return?
4 "Jeremiah, say to the people, 'This is what the Lord says: "'When people fall down, don't they get up again? When they discover they're on the wrong road, don't they turn back?
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 8:4
Commentary on Jeremiah 8:4-13
(Read Jeremiah 8:4-13)
What brought this ruin? 1. The people would not attend to reason; they would not act in the affairs of their souls with common prudence. Sin is backsliding; it is going back from the way that leads to life, to that which leads to destruction. 2. They would not attend to the warning of conscience. They did not take the first step towards repentance: true repentance begins in serious inquiry as to what we have done, from conviction that we have done amiss. 3. They would not attend to the ways of providence, nor understand the voice of God in them, verse 7. They know not how to improve the seasons of grace, which God affords. Many boast of their religious knowledge, yet, unless taught by the Spirit of God, the instinct of brutes is a more sure guide than their supposed wisdom. 4. They would not attend to the written word. Many enjoy abundance of the means of grace, have Bibles and ministers, but they have them in vain. They will soon be ashamed of their devices. The pretenders to wisdom were the priests and the false prophets. They flattered people in sin, and so flattered them into destruction, silencing their fears and complaints with, All is well. Selfish teachers may promise peace when there is no peace; and thus men encourage each other in committing evil; but in the day of visitation they will have no refuge to flee unto.