Jeremias 14

1 AND THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO JEREMIAS CONCERNING THE DROUGHT.

The word of Jehovah, which came to Jeremiah concerning a drought.

2 Judea has mourned, and her gates are emptied, and are darkened upon the earth; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

Judah mourneth, And the gates thereof languish; They are in deep mourning upon the ground. And the cry of Jerusalem goeth up.

3 And her nobles have sent their little ones to the water: they came to the wells, and found no water: and brought back their vessels empty.

The nobles send their younger ones for water; They come to the wells, they find none; They return with their vessels empty; They are ashamed and confounded; They cover their heads.

4 And the labors of the land failed, because there was no rain: the husbandmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.

Because of the ground, which is in consternation, No rain falling upon the earth, The husbandmen are ashamed, They hide their heads.

5 And hinds calved in the field, and forsook [it], because there was no grass.

Even the hind in the field is delivered, And deserteth her young, Because there is no grass.

6 The wild asses stood by the forests, and snuffed up the wind; their eyes failed, because there was no grass.

The wild asses stand upon the hills, They snuff up the wind like jackals; Their eyes fail, Because there is no grass.

7 Our sins have risen up against us: O Lord, do you for us for your own sake; for our sins are many before you; for we have sinned against you.

Though our iniquities testify against us, Yet do thou, O Jehovah, act from a regard to thine own name. For our transgressions have been many; We have sinned against thee.

8 O Lord, [you are] the hope of Israel, and deliver [us] in time of troubles; why are you become as a sojourner upon the land, or as one born in the land, yet turning aside for a resting-place?

O thou hope of Israel, His saviour in the time of trouble, Why wilt thou be as a stranger in the land, As a traveller who spreadeth his tent to pass the night?

9 Will you be as a man asleep, or as a [strong] man that can’t save? yet you are among us, O Lord, and your name is called upon us; forget us not.

Why wilt thou be as a man that is amazed, As a hero that cannot save? Thou art in the midst of us, O Jehovah, And we are called by thy name; Do not forsake us!

10 Thus says the Lord to this people, They have loved to wander, and they have not spared, therefore God has not prospered them; now will he remember their iniquity.

Thus saith Jehovah concerning this people: Thus they love to wander, They restrain not their feet; Therefore Jehovah doth not accept them; Now will he remember their iniquities, And punish their sins.

11 And the Lord said to me, Pray not for this people for [their] good:

Then said Jehovah to me: Pray not for this people for their good!

12 for though they fast, I will not hear their supplication; and though they offer whole burnt offerings and sacrifices, I will take no pleasure in them: for I will consume them with sword, and with famine, and with pestilence.

Though they fast, I will not hear their cry; Though they offer burnt-offerings and flour-offerings, I will not accept them; But by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence, I will make an end of them.

13 And I said, O [ever] living Lord! behold, their prophets prophesy, and say, You shall not see a sword, nor shall famine be among you; for I will give truth and peace on the land, and in this place.

Then said I, Alas! O Lord Jehovah! Behold, the prophets say to them, “Ye shall not see the sword, Nor shall famine come upon you; But Jehovah will give you lasting peace in this place.”

14 Then the Lord said to me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, and I commanded them not, and I spoke not to them: for they prophesy to you false visions, and divinations, and auguries, and devices of their own heart.

Then said Jehovah to me: The prophets prophesy lies in my name; I have not sent them, nor commissioned them, nor spoken to them; A false vision, and divination, and vanity, And the fraud of their hearts, do they prophesy to you.

15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy lies in my name, and I sent them not, who say, Sword and famine shall not be upon this land; they shall die by a grievous death, and the prophets shall be consumed by famine.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets Who prophesy in my name, though I sent them not, But who themselves say, “The sword and famine shall not be in this land”: By the sword and by famine shall those prophets be consumed.

16 And the people to whom they prophesy, they also shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, because of the sword and famine; and there shall be none to bury them: their wives also, and their sons, and their daughters [shall die thus]; and I will pour out their wickedness upon them.

And the people to whom they prophesy Shall be cast forth in the streets of Jerusalem By means of famine and the sword; And they shall have none to bury them, —They, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters; For I will pour their wickedness upon them.

17 And you shall speak this word to them; Let your eyes shed tears day and night, and let them not cease: for the daughter of my people has been sorely bruised, and her plague is very grievous.

Thus also shalt thou speak to them: My eyes shall run down with tears night and day; They shall not cease; For a deep wound hath she received, The virgin daughter of my people, A deadly blow.

18 If I go forth into the plain, then behold the slain by the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold the distress of famine! for priest and prophet have gone to a land which they knew not.

If I go forth into the fields, Then behold them that are slain by the sword! And if I enter the city, Then behold them that pine with famine! Both prophet and priest wander about the land, they know not whither.

19 Hast you utterly rejected Juda? and has your soul departed from Sion? therefore has you struck us, and there is no healing for us? we waited for peace, but there was no prosperity; for a time of healing, and behold trouble!

Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? Doth thy soul abhor Zion? Why hast thou smitten us, so that there is no healing for us! We look for peace, and there is no good, For a time of healing, and behold, terror!

20 We know, O Lord, our sins, [and] the iniquities of our fathers: for we have sinned before you.

We acknowledge, O Jehovah, our wickedness, And the iniquity of our fathers; For we have sinned against thee.

21 Refrain for your name's sake, destroy not the throne of your glory: remember, break not your covenant with us.

Do not spurn us, for thy name's sake! Do not dishonor thy glorious throne! Call to mind, break not, thy covenant with us!

22 Is there any one among the idols of the Gentiles that can give rain? and will the sky yield his fulness [at their bidding]? Are not you he? we will even wait on you, O Lord: for you have made all these things.

Are there among the vanities of the nations any that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Art not thou he, O Jehovah, our God? Therefore in thee will we trust, For thou hast made all these things!