Jeremiah 8:1
in Jeremiah 8“At that time,” declares the LORD, “the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of the officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
At that time, saith Jehovah, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves;
KJV
At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:
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This verse in Jeremiah 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Not the living only but the dead shall be exposed to the ruthless violence of the enemy, who will ransack the graves of the wealthier classes.
This site's exposition
the bones of the kings of Judah
on Jeremiah 8:1-3
The bones of kings, priests, prophets and people are exposed to “all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped”. The objects of their devotion become witnesses of their shame, and worship offered to the sky is repaid by exposure under it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 8, verses 1 and following) In that time, says the Lord, the bones of the king of Judah and the bones of his princes and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets and the bones of those who lived in Jerusalem will be thrown out of their tombs. And they will spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of the heavens, which they loved and served and after which they walked and which they sought and worshiped.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The bones - This denotes the utter desolation of the city, not only rasing the walls, but turning up the very sepulchres which were accounted sacred, and not to be violated.
At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The victorious Babylonians were about to violate the sanctuaries of the dead in search of plunder; for ornaments, treasures, and insignia of royalty were usually buried with kings. Or rather, their purpose was to do the greatest dishonor to the dead (Isa 14:19).
They shall bring out the bones - This and the two following verses are a continuation of the preceding prophecy, and should not have been separated from the foregoing chapter. In order to pour the utmost contempt upon the land, the victorious enemies dragged out of their graves, caves, and sepulchers, the bones of kings, princes, prophets, priests, and the principal inhabitants, and exposed them in the open air; so that they became, in the order of God’s judgments, a reproach to them in the vain confidence they had in the sun, moon, and the host of heaven - all the planets and stars, whose worship they had set up in opposition to that of Jehovah. This custom of raising the bodies of the dead, and scattering their bones about, seems to have been general. It was the highest expression of hatred and contempt. Horace refers to it: - Barbarus, heu, cineres insistet victor, et urbem Eques sonante verberabit ungula: Quaeque carent ventis et solibus ossa Quirini (Nefas videre) dissipabit insolens. Epod. 16:11. “Barbarians fell shall wanton with success, Scatter the city’s flaming ruins wide; Or through her streets in vengeful triumph ride, And her great founder’s hallowed ashes spurn, That slept uninjured in the sacred urn.” Francis. See this judgment referred to, Baruch 2:24, 25.
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בָּעֵ֣ת | baet | at the time | H6256 → | 296 times |
| הַהִ֣יא | hahi' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֡ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יוֹצִ֣יאוּ | veyotziu | people will bring out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַצְמ֣וֹת | atzmot | [the] bones of | H6106 → | 126 times |
| מַלְכֵֽי־ | malkhei- | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָ֣ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַצְמוֹת־ | ʾatzmot- | [the] bones of | H6106 → | 126 times |
| שָׂרָיו֩ | sarav | officials its | H8269 → | 421 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַצְמ֨וֹת | atzmot | [the] bones of | H6106 → | 126 times |
| הַכֹּהֲנִ֜ים | hakohanim | the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וְאֵ֣ת׀ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַצְמ֣וֹת | atzmot | [the] bones of | H6106 → | 126 times |
| הַנְּבִיאִ֗ים | haneviim | the prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| וְאֵ֛ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַצְמ֥וֹת | atzmot | [the] bones of | H6106 → | 126 times |
| יוֹשְׁבֵֽי־ | yoshevei- | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָ֖ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| מִקִּבְרֵיהֶֽם׃ | mikivreihem | from graves their | H6913 → | 67 times |
בָּעֵ֣תat the time
baetH6256 →296 times
הַהִ֣יא<the> that
hahi'H1931 →1879 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֡הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יוֹצִ֣יאוּpeople will bring out
veyotziuH3318 →1067 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַצְמ֣וֹת[the] bones of
atzmotH6106 →126 times
מַלְכֵֽי־[the] kings of
malkhei-H4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָ֣הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עַצְמוֹת־[the] bones of
ʾatzmot-H6106 →126 times
שָׂרָיו֩officials its
saravH8269 →421 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עַצְמ֨וֹת[the] bones of
atzmotH6106 →126 times
הַכֹּהֲנִ֜יםthe priests
hakohanimH3548 →750 times
וְאֵ֣ת׀and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עַצְמ֣וֹת[the] bones of
atzmotH6106 →126 times
הַנְּבִיאִ֗יםthe prophets
haneviimH5030 →314 times
וְאֵ֛תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עַצְמ֥וֹת[the] bones of
atzmotH6106 →126 times
יוֹשְׁבֵֽי־[the] inhabitants of
yoshevei-H3427 →1079 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָ֖םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
מִקִּבְרֵיהֶֽם׃from graves their
mikivreihemH6913 →67 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Kings 23:16And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the hillside, and he sent someone to take the bones out of the tombs, and he burned them on the altar to defile it,…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 13:1–2
Suddenly, as Jeroboam was standing beside the altar to burn incense, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the LORD.
- 1 Kings 13:32
for the message that he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely…
- 1 Kings 13:1–2
Through
Ezekiel 37:1The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 3:22
And there the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.”
- Ezekiel 1:3
the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him.
- Acts 8:39
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.
- Ezekiel 33:22
Now the evening before the fugitive arrived, the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened…
- Jeremiah 7:32
So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. For they will bury the dead…
- Ezekiel 3:22
Through
Ezekiel 6:5I will lay the corpses of the Israelites before their idols and scatter your bones around your altars.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 23:14
He smashed the sacred pillars to pieces, cut down the Asherah poles, and covered the sites with human bones.
- 2 Kings 23:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
