The Severe Drought
14 That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah concerning the matter[a] of the severe drought.
2 “Judah mourns, and her gates languish,
they are in mourning on the ground,
and the cry of lament of Jerusalem goes up.
3 And their nobles send their servants for water.
They come to the pits, they find no water.
They return with their vessels empty.[b]
They are ashamed, and they are confounded,
and they cover their heads.[c]
4 Because of the ground, which is cracked
because there was no rain on the ground.
The farmers are ashamed,
they cover their heads.[d]
5 For even the doe in the field gives birth and forsakes her young,[e]
because there is no green growth.
6 And wild asses stand on the barren heights,
they gasp for breath like the jackals.
Their eyes fail
because there is no vegetation.”
7 Although our iniquities testify against us, O Yahweh,
act for the sake of your name.
Yes, our apostasies are many;
we have sinned against you.
8 You are the hope of Israel,
its savior in time of distress.
Why should you be like an alien in the land,
or like a traveler who spreads out his tent [f] to spend the night?
9 Why should you be like a confused man,
like a warrior who is not able to help?
Yet you are in our midst, O Yahweh,
and your name is called upon us.
You must not leave us!
10 Thus says Yahweh concerning this people:
“They have loved so much to wander,
they have not spared their feet.
Therefore Yahweh is not favorable to them,
now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.”
Lying Prophets
11 So Yahweh said to me, “You must not pray for this people, for their happiness.[g] 12 Although they fast, I am not listening to their cry of entreaty. And although they present burnt offering and grain offering, I am not favorable to them. But by the sword, and by the famine, and by the plague, I am about to destroy them.” 13 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh, look, the prophets are saying to them, ‘You will not see the sword, and famine will not be yours, but reliable peace I will give to you in this place.’” 14 And Yahweh said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies[h] in my name. I have not sent them, and I have not commanded them, and I have not spoken to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, and a divination, worthless, and the deceitfulness of their minds.”[i] 15 Therefore[j] thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who prophecy in my name though I have not sent them, yet they are saying, “Sword and famine will not be in this land.” “By the sword and by the famine those prophets will perish. 16 And the people to whom they are prophesying will be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem because of[k] the famine and the sword. And there will be no one who buries them, their wives, or their sons, or their daughters. And I will pour out on them their wickedness.
The Nation Hopes in Yahweh
17 “And you shall say to them this word,
‘Let my eyes melt with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for with a great wound the virgin daughter of my people is broken,
with a very incurable wound.
18 If I go out into the field,
then look, those slain by the sword.
And if I enter the city,
then look, the sickness of the famine.
For both prophet and priest wander around through the land,
they do not know what is going on.’”[l]
19 Have you completely rejected Judah?
Or has your soul[m] loathed Zion?
Why have you struck us
so that there is no healing for us?
We hope for peace, but there is no good,
and for a time of healing, but look, there is terror.
20 We know, O Yahweh, our wickedness,
the iniquity of our ancestors,[n]
for we have sinned against you.
21 You must not spurn us[o] for the sake of your name,
you must not dishonor your glorious throne.[p]
Remember us![q]
You must not break your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the idols of the nation who cause rain to pour?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, O Yahweh our God?
Therefore, we hope in you, for you do all these things.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 14:1 Hebrew “matters”
- Jeremiah 14:3 Literally “without success”
- Jeremiah 14:3 Hebrew “head”
- Jeremiah 14:4 Hebrew “head”
- Jeremiah 14:5 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 14:8 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 14:11 Or “good”
- Jeremiah 14:14 Hebrew “lie”
- Jeremiah 14:14 Literally “heart”
- Jeremiah 14:15 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 14:16 Literally “from the face of”
- Jeremiah 14:18 Literally “and not they know”
- Jeremiah 14:19 Or “inner self”
- Jeremiah 14:20 Or “fathers”
- Jeremiah 14:21 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 14:21 Literally “the throne of your glory”
- Jeremiah 14:21 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation