can someone explain to me this verse in the Bible?

Question

Jeremiah 8:8

"How can you say, ‘We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,’ when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?"

Answer 1

The King James version is clearer:
How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain he made it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.
The next verse actually answers your question saying that the people have rejected the word of the Lord.
I believe that the author is saying that the scribes are writing down the law of the Lord, but for what purpose because the people do not do what the law says. They say, "we have the law and we are wise" but they don't follow the law in reality.

Answer 2

Jer 8:8 -
The law of the Lord - The “Torah,” or written law, the possession of which made the priests and prophets so boastfully exclaim, “We are wise.”
Lo, certainly ... - Rather, Verily, lo! the lying pen “of the scribes” hath made it - the Law - into a lie. The mention of “scribes” in this place is a crucial point in the argument whether or not the Pentateuch or Torah is the old law-book of the Jews, or a fabrication which gradually grew up, but was not received as authoritative until after the return from the captivity. It is not until the time of Josiah 2Ch_34:13 that “scribes” are mentioned except as political officers; here, however, they are students of the Torah. The Torah must have existed in writing before there could have been an order of men whose special business it was to study it; and therefore to explain this verse by saying that perhaps the scribes were writers of false prophecies written in imitation of the true, is to lose the whole gist of the passage. What the scribes turned into a lie was that Law of which they had just boasted that they were the possessors. Moreover, the scribes undeniably became possessed of preponderating influence during the exile: and on the return from Babylon were powerful enough to prevent the restoration of the kingly office. That there should be along with the priests and Levites men who devoted themselves to the study of the written Law, and who in the time of Josiah had acquired such influence as to be recognized as a distinct class - is just what we should expect from the rapid progress of learning, which began with Elisha’s active management of the schools of the prophets, and culminated in the days of Hezekiah. Jeremiah’s whole argument depends upon the fact that there were in his days men who claimed to be “wise” or “learned” men because of their study of the Pentateuch, and is entirely inconsistent with the assumptions that Jeremiah wrote the book of Deuteronomy, and that Ezra wrote parts of Exodus and the whole of Leviticus.

Answer 3

I don't now what translation you are reading, but in my book it states;
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.

What is the subject here,(8:1) they are talking about The bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem(the dead)
(8:2)and spread them--before whom they have worshipped
(8:3)death chosen instead of life
(8:4)Shall they fall and not arise---Shall he turn away and not return
(8:5) perpetual backsliding
(8:6)no man repented---everyone turned to his course, as the horse rusheth to battle
(8:7)My people know not the judgment of the Lord

The verses speak of a people who even though they knew of the law they worshipped other gods and because of this they have chosen spiritual death and will not rise to be with the Lord, they went with full knowledge of the Law and chose not to repent and ignored the judgement of the lord.

So the meaning of (8:8) is that the scribes pen was in vain---they wrote the Law but nobody payed any attention all the while saying that the Law was known to them but not showing it in their actions.

Again I do not Know what translation you are reading but some of the modern ones may be easier to read but not necessarily easier to understand

Answer 4

8 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.

Kenites in the temple!
The Law is being interpreted not as it should be, to the point of why have the Law?

Much as our Constitution and bill or rights are being interpreted wrong, and judges seek laws or other countries to apply here, why have a constitution or bill of rights if what it says is being ignored or revised interpretation?

And they are the smartest men in the room?

Answer 5

Jeremiah was desperately trying to warn of the impending desolation of Judah but he was just spitting in the wind. No one was listening.

Verse 6 (NLT) I listen to their conversations, and what do I hear? Is anyone sorry for sin? Does anyone say, "What a terrible thing I have done"? No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse rushing into battle!

Halley's handbook offers this:

Fully conscious of the futility of his appeals and rebukes, Jeremiah speaks of the impending desolation as if it were already accomplished (v.20). The insistence of the false prophets (vv. 10-11) that Jerusalem was in no danger constituted one of Jeremiah's most difficult problems. (See chapter 23)

Answer 6

yes. The chapter this is part of deals with the false pride of Jerusalem. The people claimed to be living the law, but it was a lie. You left out the phrase "Lo, certainly in vain made he it".

The modern equivalent is to say that the church, in say San Francisco, declare that they follow the law when actually the city is wicked and and the scribes, or bureaucrats, or making up their own laws.

Answer 7

The key is in verse 11. The entire passage describes the sin of those who handled the Word of God deceiptfully and perverted the purposes of the Most High. The latter part of the passage lays out their judgment.

Answer 8

Just as in Jesus time, the scriptures were misinterpreted and misapplied.

Do not think that copies of the manuscripts were made poorly, the care taken to produce EXACT COPIES was extreme. Each page copied was re-read. They always wrote the same number of letters on a line and various columns of letters were reread to insure exact copies. The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm the accuracy and care taken to copy the text correctly.

Answer 9

Start by reading the whole chapter. He appears to be on a rant about failing to follow the holy law. Use both the King James and whatever you have to compare. It's only your teachers and peers who want to keep you dumb that can't read Elizabethan English

Answer 10

I think basically they are saying that the pharisees wrote laws that had no basis on the teachings of the Lord,and to call them wise would be an insult to God,because the laws had no basis related to the church.just like the U.S.