Is There No Balm in Gilead (Jeremiah 8:18-9:9)

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Is There No Balm in Gilead

Jeremiah 8:18-9:9

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Is There No Balm in Gilead

Jeremiah 8:18-9:9

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This song belongs to the Jeremiah collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.

Bible book: Jeremiah
Collection: Jeremiah
Musical styles: Acoustic

[Verse 1] My heart is faint within me for the hurt of my people. From a far country the daughter of Zion cries: Is not the LORD in Zion; is not her king in her? Why have graven images moved him to anger? The harvest is past, the summer is ended, And we are not saved. [Refrain] For the wound of my people am I wounded; I mourn, astonishment has taken hold. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is health not recovered? [Verse 2] O that my head were waters, And mine eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night for the slain. O for a lodging place in the wilderness, That I might leave a people bent on treachery. [Refrain] For the wound of my people am I wounded; I mourn, astonishment has taken hold. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is health not recovered? [Bridge] They bend their tongues like bows for lies; From evil to evil they pass and know me not. Brother deceives brother, neighbor walks with slanders; The mouth speaks peace while the heart lays an ambush. Their habitation stands in the midst of deceit. [Outro] I will melt and try them; How else shall I do for the daughter of my people? Shall I not visit for these things? Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation?

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About the passage

Jeremiah 8: The wound beneath the promise of peace

Jeremiah 8 begins by disturbing the graves and exposing the dead before the heavenly bodies they once worshipped. The survivors inherit no easy relief. The Book of Jeremiah then asks why Judah refuses the ordinary logic of getting up after a fall or turning back after a wrong direction. Even migrating birds understand their seasons better than the people understand judgment. Claims to wisdom and possession of the law fail when the word itself is rejected, and the old false treatment returns: “Peace, peace,” over a wound that remains open. Fruitfulness disappears, defended cities become places of bitter silence, and the army approaches from Dan. The final lament braids together the people’s cry, God’s accusation, and Jeremiah’s own hurt. Balm and physician can be named, yet healing is still absent. Harvest and summer pass, and the chapter ends without rescue.

Study Jeremiah 8 in depth

Jeremiah 9: Tears for a people practiced in deceit

Tears and deceit dominate Jeremiah 9. The speaker wants enough water to weep continuously for the slain and, in the next breath, a wilderness lodging far from a society where tongues have been trained to lie. The Book of Jeremiah shows falsehood moving from private speech into public devastation: neighbors set verbal ambushes, the land empties, animal sounds disappear, and cities become ruins. When wisdom is challenged to explain the waste, God gives the covenant answer, including wrongdoing learned from previous generations. Mourning then becomes its own discipline, taught by skilled women because death has entered windows and palaces and left bodies without gathering. The chapter’s final movement strips wisdom, strength, and riches of their power to serve as grounds for boasting. True knowledge is defined through God’s lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, while an uncircumcised heart defeats confidence in an outward sign.

Study Jeremiah 9 in depth