Jeremiah 14

The Drought and Its Misery

1 This is the word of the LORD to Jeremiah concerning the drought.

2 “Judah mourns; her cities are wasting away. People collapse to the ground, crying out, and Jerusalem’s cry rises up.”

3 The nobles send their servants for water. They go to the cisterns but find none. They return with their containers empty, ashamed and humiliated, covering their heads.

4 Because the ground is cracked from drought, farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads too.

5 Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn in the field because there is no grass.

6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren hills, sniffing the wind like jackals. Their eyes fail because there is no vegetation.

Jeremiah’s Plea for Mercy

7 “Though our sins testify against us, LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.”

8 “O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of trouble, Why are You like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who only stays for a night?”

9 “Why are You like a man caught off guard, like a warrior who cannot save, Yet You are among us, LORD, and we bear Your name, do not abandon us!”

God’s Refusal to Accept Empty Repentance

10 This is what the LORD says about this people: “They love to wander; they do not restrain their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their sins and punish them.”

No Prayer for the People

11 Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the good of this people.”

12 “When they fast, I will not listen. When they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with sword, famine, and plague.”

Lying Prophets

13 Then I said, “Lord GOD, the prophets keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine; the LORD will give you lasting peace.’”

14 The LORD replied, “The prophets are prophesying lies in My name. I did not send them, command them, or speak to them. They are prophesying false visions, worthless fortune-telling, and delusions of their own minds.”

15 “So this is what the LORD says about those prophets who speak in My name without being sent: They say, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ But sword and famine will destroy them.”

16 “And the people who listen to them will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of famine and sword. No one will bury them, neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons or daughters. I will pour out their own wickedness upon them.”

A Call to Weep

17 “Speak this word to them: ‘Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day, without stopping, For the virgin daughter of my people is grievously wounded, struck down with a crushing blow.’”

18 “If I go to the field, I see people killed by the sword. If I enter the city, I see people dying of famine. Even the prophets and priests wander the land without understanding.”

Jeremiah Appeals Again

19 “Have You completely rejected Judah, Has Your soul despised Zion, Why have You struck us so we cannot be healed, We looked for peace, nothing good came. For healing, but instead came terror.”

20 “We confess our wickedness, LORD, the sins of our fathers too, for we have sinned against You.”

21 “For the sake of Your name, do not despise us. Do not dishonor Your glorious throne. Remember Your covenant with us, do not break it.”

22 “Can any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain, Can the skies themselves send showers, Is it not You alone, LORD our God, We put our hope in You, For You are the One who does all these things.”