Jeremiah 14

1 This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

That which has been the word of YHWH to Jeremiah concerning the matters of the scarcities:

2 “Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.

“Judah has mourned, and her gates have languished, They have mourned to the earth, And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

3 The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.

And their majestic ones have sent their little ones to the water, They have come to ditches, They have not found water, They have turned back—their vessels empty! They have been ashamed, And have blushed and covered their head.

4 The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.

Because the ground has been broken, For there has been no rain in the land, Farmers have been ashamed, They have covered their head.

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

For even the doe in the field has brought forth—to forsake [it!] For there has been no grass.

6 Wild donkeys stand on barren heights; they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail for lack of pasture.”

And wild donkeys have stood on high places, They have swallowed up wind like dragons, Their eyes have been consumed, for there is no herb.”

7 Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.

Surely our iniquities have testified against us, O YHWH, work for Your Name’s sake, For our backslidings have been many, We have sinned against You.

8 O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are You like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays but a night?

O Hope of Israel—its Savior in time of trouble, Why are You as a sojourner in the land? And as a traveler turned aside to lodge?

9 Why are You like a man taken by surprise, like a warrior powerless to save? Yet You are among us, O LORD, and we are called by Your name. Do not forsake us!

Why are You as one mute? As a mighty one not able to save? And You [are] in our midst, O YHWH, And Your Name is called over us, Do not leave us.

10 This is what the LORD says about this people: “Truly they love to wander; they have not restrained their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; He will now remember their guilt and call their sins to account.”

Thus said YHWH concerning this people: “They have loved to wander well, They have not restrained their feet, And YHWH has not accepted them, Now He remembers their iniquity, And inspects their sin.”

11 Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.

And YHWH says to me: “You do not pray for this people for good.

12 Although they may fast, I will not listen to their cry; although they may offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will finish them off by sword and famine and plague.”

When they fast, I do not listen to their cry, and when they cause burnt-offering and present to ascend, I do not accept them; for I am consuming them by sword, and by famine, and by pestilence.”

13 “Ah, Lord GOD!” I replied, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”

And I say, “Aah! Lord YHWH, behold, the prophets are saying to them: You do not see a sword, indeed, famine is not [on] you, for I give true peace to you in this place.”

14 “The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds.

And YHWH says to me: “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My Name. I did not send them, nor command them, nor have I spoken to them. A false vision, and divination, and vanity—indeed, they are prophesying the deceit of their own heart to you.

15 Therefore this is what the LORD says about the prophets who prophesy in My name: I did not send them, yet they say, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ By sword and famine these very prophets will meet their end!

Therefore, thus said YHWH concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My Name and I have not sent them, and they are saying, Sword and famine is not in this land: By sword and by famine are these prophets consumed.

16 And the people to whom they prophesy will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour out their own evil upon them.

And the people to whom they are prophesying are cast into out-places of Jerusalem, because of the famine and the sword, and they have none burying them—them, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters—and I have poured out their evil on them.

17 You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow, a severely grievous wound.

And you have said this word to them: Tears come down my eyes night and day, And they do not cease, For [with] a great breach, The virgin daughter of my people has been broken, A very grievous stroke.

18 If I go out to the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, I see those ravaged by famine! For both prophet and priest travel to a land they do not know.’”

If I have gone forth to the field, Then, behold, the pierced of the sword! And if I have entered the city, Then, behold, the diseased of famine! For both prophet and priest have gone up and down To a land that they did not know.”

19 Have You rejected Judah completely? Do You despise Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We hoped for peace, but no good has come, and for the time of healing, but there was only terror.

Have You utterly rejected Judah? Has Your soul loathed Zion? Why have You struck us, And there is no healing to us? Looking for peace, and there is no good, And for a time of healing, and behold, terror.

20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD, the guilt of our fathers; indeed, we have sinned against You.

We have known, O YHWH, our wickedness, The iniquity of our fathers, For we have sinned against You.

21 For the sake of Your name do not despise us; do not disgrace Your glorious throne. Remember Your covenant with us; do not break it.

Do not despise, for Your Name’s sake, Do not dishonor the throne of Your glory, Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.

22 Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have done all these things.

Are there any among the vanities of the nations causing rain? And do the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O our God YHWH? And we wait for you, for You have done all these!