Jeremiah 14
Translated from the Hebrew of the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Tap a verse to see why it reads as it does. Tap a small letter to read its footnote.
The drought
1The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah about the droughts: 2Judah mourns, \q her gates droop and fail; her people sit on the ground in black, \q and the cry of Jerusalem rises. 3Their nobles send their young servants to fetch water; \q they reach the cisterns and there is no water; their vessels come back empty. \q They are ashamed and disgraced, and they cover their heads. 4Because of the ground, cracked open \q since no rain has come on the land, \q the farmers are put to shame; they cover their heads. 5Even the doe in the open field gives birth and then leaves her young behind, \q because there is no grass. 6Wild donkeys stand on the bare heights, \q gasping for air like jackals; \q their eyes grow dim, because there are no plants. 7Even though our sins bear witness against us, LORD, \q act for the sake of your name; \q for we have turned away many times; we have sinned against you. 8Hope of Israel, who saves it in a time of trouble, \q why do you seem an outsider in the land, \q a traveler who turns aside to camp for one night? 9Why are you like someone stunned, \q like a soldier who cannot save anyone? \q Yet you are among us, LORD, and your name is spoken over us; do not abandon us.
10The LORD says this about this people: They love to wander; \q they do not keep their feet in check. \q So the LORD takes no pleasure in them; \q now he will remember their guilt and punish their sins.
Prophets who promise peace
11Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the good of this people. 12When they fast, I will not hear their cry; when they present burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will take no pleasure in them. No, I am going to put an end to them by sword, famine and plague.”
13Then I said, “Oh, Lord GOD! Look, the prophets tell them, ‘The sword you will not see, and famine will not come on you; instead I will give you peace that is sure, here in this place.’”
14Then the LORD said to me, “Lies are what the prophets prophesy in my name. I did not send them, I gave them no command, and I did not speak to them. What they prophesy to you is a false vision, divination, worthless things and the deceit of their own hearts.
15Therefore the LORD says this about the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine will not come on this land’: Those prophets will come to their end by sword and famine. 16The people who hear their prophecies will be flung into the streets of Jerusalem by famine and sword, and no one will bury them, nor their wives, their sons and their daughters. I will pour their own evil out upon them. 17Say this word to them: \q ‘Let tears stream from my eyes night and day, and let them not stop, \q for the virgin, my dear people, has been broken by a great blow, \q a wound that is very severe. 18If I go out to the open fields, there lie those slain by the sword; \q if I enter the city, \q there are those sick from famine. \q Even prophet and priest go roaming off to a land they do not know.’”a
Have you rejected Judah?
19Have you rejected Judah altogether? \q Has Zion become hateful to you? \q Why have you struck us down beyond any healing? \q We hoped for peace, but nothing good came; \q for a time of healing, but there was only terror. 20LORD, we know our wickedness and the guilt of our ancestors; \q we have sinned against you. 21Do not treat us with scorn, for the sake of your name; \q do not bring shame on the throne of your glory. \q Remember, and do not break your covenant with us. 22Is there any among the empty idols of the nations that can make it rain? \q Can the heavens give showers on their own? \q Is it not you, LORD our God? We wait in hope for you, \q for it is you who made all these things.