Drought, Famine, Sword
14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(A)
2 “Judah mourns,(B)
her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3 The nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns
but find no water.(C)
They return with their jars unfilled;
dismayed and despairing,
they cover their heads.(D)
4 The ground is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;(E)
the farmers are dismayed
and cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field
deserts her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.(F)
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights(G)
and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
for lack of food.”(H)
7 Although our sins testify(I) against us,
do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.(J)
For we have often rebelled;(K)
we have sinned(L) against you.
8 You who are the hope(M) of Israel,
its Savior(N) in times of distress,(O)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only a night?
9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a warrior powerless to save?(P)
You are among(Q) us, Lord,
and we bear your name;(R)
do not forsake(S) us!
10 This is what the Lord says about this people:
“They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.(T)
So the Lord does not accept(U) them;
he will now remember(V) their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.”(W)
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray(X) for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry;(Y) though they offer burnt offerings(Z) and grain offerings,(AA) I will not accept(AB) them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,(AC) famine(AD) and plague.”(AE)
13 But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets(AF) keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine.(AG) Indeed, I will give you lasting peace(AH) in this place.’”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies(AI) in my name. I have not sent(AJ) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,(AK) divinations,(AL) idolatries[a] and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish(AM) by sword and famine.(AN) 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury(AO) them, their wives, their sons and their daughters.(AP) I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.(AQ)
17 “Speak this word to them:
“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears(AR)
night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin(AS) Daughter, my people,
has suffered a grievous wound,
a crushing blow.(AT)
18 If I go into the country,
I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
I see the ravages of famine.(AU)
Both prophet and priest
have gone to a land they know not.(AV)’”
19 Have you rejected Judah completely?(AW)
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
so that we cannot be healed?(AX)
We hoped for peace
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.(AY)
20 We acknowledge(AZ) our wickedness, Lord,
and the guilt of our ancestors;(BA)
we have indeed sinned(BB) against you.
21 For the sake of your name(BC) do not despise us;
do not dishonor your glorious throne.(BD)
Remember your covenant(BE) with us
and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols(BF) of the nations bring rain?(BG)
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
Therefore our hope is in you,
for you are the one who does all this.(BH)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations
Cross references
- Jeremiah 14:1 : S Dt 28:22; S Isa 5:6
- Jeremiah 14:2 : S Isa 3:26
- Jeremiah 14:3 : S Dt 28:48; S 2Ki 18:31; Job 6:19-20
- Jeremiah 14:3 : S Est 6:12
- Jeremiah 14:4 : S Jer 3:3; S 12:11; Am 4:8; Zec 14:17
- Jeremiah 14:5 : Isa 15:6
- Jeremiah 14:6 : S Job 39:5-6; S Ps 104:11; S Jer 2:24
- Jeremiah 14:6 : S Ge 47:4
- Jeremiah 14:7 : S Isa 3:9; Hos 5:5
- Jeremiah 14:7 : S 1Sa 12:22; S Ps 79:9
- Jeremiah 14:7 : S Jer 2:19; 5:6
- Jeremiah 14:7 : S Jer 8:14
- Jeremiah 14:8 : S Ps 9:18; Jer 17:13; 50:7
- Jeremiah 14:8 : Ps 18:46; S Isa 25:9
- Jeremiah 14:8 : Ps 46:1
- Jeremiah 14:9 : S Isa 50:2
- Jeremiah 14:9 : S Ge 17:7; Jer 8:19
- Jeremiah 14:9 : Isa 63:19; Jer 15:16
- Jeremiah 14:9 : S Ps 27:9
- Jeremiah 14:10 : Ps 119:101; Jer 2:25
- Jeremiah 14:10 : Jer 6:20; Am 5:22
- Jeremiah 14:10 : Hos 7:2; 9:9; Am 8:7
- Jeremiah 14:10 : Jer 44:21-23; Hos 8:13; Am 3:2
- Jeremiah 14:11 : S Ex 32:10; S 1Sa 2:25
- Jeremiah 14:12 : S Dt 1:45; S 1Sa 8:18; S Jer 11:11
- Jeremiah 14:12 : Lev 1:1-17; Jer 7:21
- Jeremiah 14:12 : S Lev 2:1-16
- Jeremiah 14:12 : Am 5:22
- Jeremiah 14:12 : S Isa 51:19; S Jer 9:16
- Jeremiah 14:12 : Jer 15:2; 16:4
- Jeremiah 14:12 : Jer 21:6; 27:8, 13; 32:24; 34:17; Eze 14:21
- Jeremiah 14:13 : Dt 18:22; Jer 27:14; 37:19
- Jeremiah 14:13 : S Jer 5:12
- Jeremiah 14:13 : S Isa 30:10; S Jer 4:10
- Jeremiah 14:14 : S Jer 5:1; 23:25; 27:14; Eze 13:2
- Jeremiah 14:14 : Jer 23:21, 32; 29:31; Eze 13:6
- Jeremiah 14:14 : Jer 23:16; La 2:9
- Jeremiah 14:14 : Eze 12:24
- Jeremiah 14:15 : Jer 20:6; Eze 14:9
- Jeremiah 14:15 : Jer 5:12-13; 16:4; La 1:19
- Jeremiah 14:16 : Ps 79:3
- Jeremiah 14:16 : S Jer 7:33
- Jeremiah 14:16 : S Pr 1:31; S Jer 17:10
- Jeremiah 14:17 : S Ps 119:136
- Jeremiah 14:17 : S 2Ki 19:21; S Isa 23:12
- Jeremiah 14:17 : S Jer 8:21
- Jeremiah 14:18 : Eze 7:15
- Jeremiah 14:18 : S 2Ch 36:10; S Jer 13:17
- Jeremiah 14:19 : Jer 7:29
- Jeremiah 14:19 : S Isa 1:6; Jer 30:12-13
- Jeremiah 14:19 : S Job 19:8; S Jer 8:15
- Jeremiah 14:20 : S Jer 3:13
- Jeremiah 14:20 : S Lev 26:40; S 1Ki 8:47; S Ezr 9:6
- Jeremiah 14:20 : S Jdg 10:10; Da 9:7-8
- Jeremiah 14:21 : ver 7; S Jos 7:9
- Jeremiah 14:21 : Isa 62:7; Jer 3:17
- Jeremiah 14:21 : S Ex 2:24
- Jeremiah 14:22 : S Isa 41:24; S 44:10; Jer 10:15; 16:19; Hab 2:18
- Jeremiah 14:22 : S 1Ki 8:36; S Ps 135:7
- Jeremiah 14:22 : S Isa 43:10