Jeremiah 14

Drought and a Prayer for Mercy

1That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah regarding the 1drought:2“Judah mourns And 2her gates languish; Her people sit on the ground 3in mourning garments, And the 4cry of Jerusalem has ascended.3Their nobles have 5sent their 6servants for water; They have come to the 7cisterns and found no water. They have returned with their containers empty; They have been 8put to shame and humiliated, And they 9cover their heads,4Because the 10ground is 11cracked, For there has been 12no rain on the land. The 13farmers have been put to shame, They have covered their heads.5For even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young, Because there is 14no grass.6The 15wild donkeys stand on the bare heights; They pant for air like jackals, Their eyes fail Because there is 16no vegetation.7Though our 17wrongdoings testify against us, Lord, act 18for the sake of Your name! Our 19apostasies have indeed been many, We have 20sinned against You.821Hope of Israel, Its 22Savior in 23time of distress, Why are You like a stranger in the land, Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?9Why are You like a confused person, Like a warrior who 24cannot save? Yet 25You are in our midst, Lord, And we are 26called by Your name; Do not leave us!”

10This is what the Lord says to this people: “So much they have 27loved to wander; they have not 28restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does 29not accept them; now He will 30remember their wrongdoing and call their sins to account.” 11So the Lord said to me, “31Do not pray for a good outcome on behalf of this people. 12When they fast, I am 32not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer 33burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather, I am going to 34put an end to them by the 35sword, famine, and plague.”

False Prophets

13But I said, “Oh, Lord 36God! Behold, the prophets are telling them, ‘You 37will not see a sword, nor will you have famine; on the contrary, I will give you lasting 38peace in this place.’” 14Then the Lord said to me, “The 39prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. 40I have neither sent them nor commanded them, nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a 41false vision, divination, futility, and the deception of their own 42minds. 15Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them--yet they keep saying: ‘There will be no sword or famine in this land’--43by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end! 16And the people to whom they are prophesying will be 44thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to 45bury them--neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters. For I will 46pour out their own wickedness upon them.17You will say this word to them, ‘47Let my eyes stream down tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin 48daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow, With a sorely 49infected wound.18If I 50go out to the country, There are those killed by the sword! Or if I enter the city, There are diseases from famine! For 51both prophet and priest Have wandered around in the land that they do not know.’”

19Have You completely 52rejected Judah? Or have 53You loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we 54are beyond healing? We 55waited for peace, but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!20We 56know our wickedness, Lord, The wrongdoing of our fathers, for 57we have sinned against You.21Do not despise us, 58for the sake of Your own name; Do not disgrace the 59throne of Your glory. Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us.22Are there any among the 6061idols of the nations who 62give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, Lord our God? Therefore we 63wait for You, For You are the one who has done all these things.