Jeremiah 14:1-10

1The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah about the drought.

2Judah mourns; its gates fall apart. The people of Judah sit in mourning on the ground. Their cry goes up from Jerusalem.

3Important people send their assistants out for water. They go to the cisterns, but they don’t find any water. They come back with their containers empty. They cover their heads, because they are ashamed and disgraced.

4The ground is cracked because there has been no rain in the land. The farmers are disappointed. They cover their heads.

5Even deer in the fields give birth and abandon their young because there’s no grass.

6Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills. They sniff the air like jackals. Their eyesight fails because they have no green plants.

7Do something, Lord, for the sake of your name, even though our sins testify against us. We have been unfaithful and have sinned against you.

8You are Israel’s hope, the one who saves it in times of trouble. Why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only one night?

9Why should you be like someone taken by surprise, like a strong man who cannot help? You, O Lord, are among us. We are called by your name. Don’t leave us!

10This is what the Lord says about these people: They love to wander. They don’t keep their feet where they belong. So the Lord isn’t happy with them. He will remember their crimes and punish their sins.