Jeremiah 14
1 After there had been no rain [in Judah] for a long time, Yahweh gave me this message:
The Word of the Lord that came to Jeremias concerning the words of the drought.
2 [The people in] Judah are very distressed; people [are sitting] on the ground and mourning; [in all of] Jerusalem people are crying loudly.
Judea hath mourned, and the gates thereof are fallen, and are become obscure on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
3 The rich people send their servants to [wells] to get water, but [all] the wells are dry. The servants return with empty pitchers; they cover their heads [because they are ashamed and humiliated/disappointed and sad].
The great ones sent their inferiors to the water: they came to draw, they found no water, they carried back their vessels empty: they were confounded and afflicted, and covered their heads.
4 The ground is extremely dry and cracked open because there has been no rain. The farmers are very worried, [so] they [also] cover their heads.
For the destruction of the land, because there came no rain upon the earth, the husbandmen were confounded, they covered their heads.
5 Even the (does/female deer) abandon their newborn babies/fawns because there is no grass in the fields [for them to eat].
Yea, the hind also brought forth in the field, and left it, because there was no grass.
6 The wild donkeys stand on the barren hills, panting like [SIM] [thirsty] jackals/wolves. They become blind because there is no grass [to eat].
And the wild asses stood upon the rocks, they snuffed up the wind like dragons, their eyes failed, because there was no grass.
7 [The people say], “Yahweh, we have turned away from you and sinned many times, and now we know that we are being punished because of our sins, but please help us in order that everyone can see that you are very great [MTY].
If our iniquities have testified against us, O Lord, do thou it for thy name’s sake, for our rebellions are many, we have sinned against thee.
8 You are the one whom [we] Israelis confidently expect [to do good things for us] when we have [many] troubles/difficulties. So, why do you [not help us]? You act as though you are a stranger in our land, like you are someone who is staying here for only one night.
O expectation of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble: why wilt thou be a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man turning in to lodge?
9 Are you also surprised [about the terrible things that are happening to us]? Why do you act like you are unable to save anyone, even though you are a strong warrior? Yahweh, you are [here] among us, and [others know that] we are your people, [so] do not abandon us!”
Why wilt thou be as a wandering man, as a mighty man that cannot save? but thou, O Lord, art among us, and thy name is called upon by us, forsake us not.
10 And this is what Yahweh says to those people: “You love to wander away [from me]; you run [MTY] from one [idol] to another. Therefore, now I will no [longer] accept you, and I will punish you for your sins.”
Thus saith the Lord to his people, that have loved to move their feet, and have not rested, and have not pleased the Lord: He will now remember their iniquities, and visit their sins.
11 [Then] Yahweh said to me, “Do not pray for these people [any more].
And the Lord said to me: Pray not for this people for their good.
12 When they (fast/abstain from food in order to honor me), I will not pay any attention. When they bring [to me] their offerings [of animals] to be completely burned [on the altar] and their offerings of grain, I will not accept them. Instead, I will get rid of them by wars, by famines, and by diseases.”
When they fast I will not hear their prayers: and if they offer holocausts and victims, I will not receive them: for I will consume them by the sword, and by famine, and by the pestilence.
13 Then I replied to him, “Yahweh [my] God, [their] prophets are telling the people that they will not experience wars [MTY] or famines. They are telling the people that you will surely allow us to have peace in our land [for many years].”
And I said: Ah, ah, ah, O Lord God, the prophets say to them: You shall not see the sword, and there shall be no famine among you, but he will give you true peace in this place.
14 Yahweh replied to me, “Those prophets say that they are speaking what I tell them to say [MTY], but they are telling lies. I did not send them, [so] what they are saying is false. They say that they have received visions from me, and that they are telling things that I have revealed to them, but that is not true. They are saying foolish things that they have only thought of themselves.
And the Lord said to me: The prophets prophesy falsely in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, nor have I spoken to them: they prophesy unto you a lying vision, and divination and deceit, and the seduction of their own heart.
15 So this is what I say about those prophets who are predicting what will happen, saying that I told them those things: They are saying that we Israelis will not die from wars or famines, but I did not send those prophets. And they themselves will die from wars or from famines.
Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophecy in my name, whom I did not send, that say: Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
16 And the people to whom they are predicting these things, they and their wives and their sons and their daughters, will [also die] from wars or from famines. [Their corpses will] be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem, and there will not be anyone to bury them. I will punish them like they deserve to be punished.
And the people to whom they prophecy, shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword, and there shall be none to bury them: they and their wives, their sons and their daughters, and I will pour out their wickedness upon them.
17 [So, Jeremiah], tell this to them [about yourself]: ‘Day and night my eyes are full of tears. I cannot stop crying. I cry for my people, who are [very precious to me, as if they were] [MET] my daughters. I cry for them because they have been severely wounded; they have been severely crushed [DOU].
And thou shalt speak this word to them: Let my eyes shed down tears night and day, and let them not cease, because the virgin daughter of my people is afflicted with a great affliction, with an exceeding grievous evil.
18 If I go out into the fields, I see [corpses of] people who have been slaughtered by our enemies. If I walk along the streets of the city, I see [corpses of people who died] from hunger. The prophets and the priests travel through the land, preaching to people, but they do not know [what they are doing] (OR, [in a land] that they know nothing about).’”
If I go forth into the fields, behold the slain with the sword: and if I enter into the city, behold them that are consumed with famine. The prophet also and the priest are gone into a land which they knew not.
19 [Then I prayed this]: “[Yahweh], have you completely rejected [the people of] Judah? Do you really despise [the people of] Jerusalem [MTY]? Why have you [RHQ] wounded us very badly, with the result that we will never be healed? We hoped that we would have peace, but there was no peace. We hoped that there would be a time when we would be healed, but all that we received were things that terrified us.
Hast thou utterly cast away Juda, or hath thy soul abhorred Sion? why then hast thou struck us, so that there is no healing for us? we have looked for peace, and there is no good: and for the time of healing, and behold trouble.
20 Yahweh, we admit/know that we are wicked people, and that our ancestors [also] did many wicked things. We have [all] sinned against you.
We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, the iniquities of our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
21 But [Yahweh], in order that we may honor [MTY] you, do not despise/abandon us. Do not dishonor [the city where] [MTY] your glorious throne is. [Please] do not forget [us], and do not (break your agreement with us/stop doing what you agreed to do for us).
Give us not to be a reproach, for thy name’s sake, and do not disgrace in us the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
22 Those idols that [have been brought from] other nations certainly cannot [RHQ] bring rain [to us], and the sky certainly cannot [RHQ] cause rain to fall. Yahweh our God, you are the only one who can do things like that. So we will confidently expect you [to help us].”
Are there any among the graven things of the Gentiles that can send rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou the Lord our God, whom we have looked for? for thou hast made all these things.
