Jeremiah 14
14
A Time Without Rain
1These are the words that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the time when there was no rain:
2“The nation of Judah cries as if someone has died,
and her cities are very sad.
They are distressed over the land.
A cry goes up to God from Jerusalem.
3The important men send their servants to get water.
They go to the wells,
but they find no water.
So they return with empty jars.
They are ashamed and embarrassed
and cover their heads in shame.
4The ground is dry and cracked open,
because no rain falls on the land.
The farmers are upset and sad,
so they cover their heads in shame.
5Even the mother deer in the field
leaves her newborn fawn to die,
because there is no grass.
6Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills
and sniff the wind like wild dogs.
But their eyes go blind,
because there is no food.”
7We know that we suffer because of our sins.
Lord, do something to help us for the good of your name.
We have left you many times;
we have sinned against you.
8God, the Hope of Israel,
you have saved Israel in times of trouble.
Why are you like a stranger in the land,
or like a traveler who only stays one night?
9Why are you like someone who has been attacked by surprise,
like a warrior who is not able to save anyone?
But you are among us, Lord,
and we are called by your name
so don’t leave us without help!
10This is what the Lord says about the people of Judah:
“They really love to wander from me;
they don’t stop themselves from leaving me.
So now the Lord will not accept them.
He will now remember the evil they do
and will punish them for their sins.”
11Then the Lord said, “Don’t pray for good things to happen to the people of Judah. 12Even if they fast, I will not listen to their prayers. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy the people of Judah with war, hunger, and terrible diseases.”
13But I said, “Oh, Lord God, the prophets keep telling the people, ‘You will not suffer from an enemy’s sword or from hunger. I, the Lord, will give you peace in this land.’ ”
14Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They have been prophesying false visions, idolatries, worthless magic, and their own wishful thinking. 15So this is what I say about the prophets who are prophesying in my name. I did not send them. They say, ‘No enemy will attack this country with swords. There will never be hunger in this land.’ So those prophets will die from hunger and from an enemy’s sword. 16And the people to whom the prophets speak will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem. There they will die from hunger and from an enemy’s sword. And no one will be there to bury them, or their wives, or their sons, or their daughters. I will punish them.
17“Jeremiah, speak this message to the people of Judah:
‘Let my eyes be filled with tears
night and day, without stopping.
My people have received a terrible blow;
they have been hurt badly.
18If I go into the country,
I see people killed by swords.
If I go into the city,
I see much sickness, because the people have no food.
Both the priests and the prophets
have been taken to a foreign land.’ ”
19Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?
Do you hate Jerusalem?
Why have you hurt us so badly
that we cannot be made well again?
We hoped for peace,
but nothing good has come.
We looked for a time of healing,
but only terror came.
20Lord, we admit that we are wicked
and that our ancestors did evil things.
We have sinned against you.
21For your sake, do not hate us.
Do not take away the honor from your glorious throne.
Remember your agreement with us,
and do not break it.
22Do foreign idols have the power to bring rain?
Does the sky itself have the power to send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
You are our only hope,
because you are the one who made all these things.
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 14: NCV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 14
14
Physical and Spiritual Drought
1The word of Adonai that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts:
2Judah will mourn, and her gates languish. They will bow in black to the ground And Jerusalem’s wail will go up.
3Their nobles will send their lads for water. They come to the cisterns, but find no water. Their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.
4Because the ground is cracked, since there has been no rain in the land, the farmers are ashamed— they cover their heads.
5For even the doe in the field abandons her newborn fawn, because there is no grass.
6Wild donkeys stand on the barren hills, as they pant for air like jackals. Their eyes fail, since there is no foliage.
7Though our iniquities testify against us, Adonai, act for Your Name’s sake. For our backslidings are many. We have sinned against You.
8O hope of Israel, Savior in time of trouble, why are You like a stranger in the land, or like a traveler who stays for a night?
9Why are You like a man overcome, like a champion who cannot save? Yet you, Adonai, are in our midst, and we are called by Your Name. Do not forsake us!
10Thus says Adonai to this people: How they loved to wander, They did not restrain their feet. So Adonai does not accept them. Now will He remember their iniquity, and punish their sins.
11So Adonai said to me: “Do not pray for the good of this people.
12If they fast, I will not hear their cry. If they offer burnt offering or grain offering, I will not accept them. Instead I will consume them with sword, with famine and with plague.”
13Then I said: “Oh my Lord, Adonai! The prophets keep telling them: ‘You will not see the sword nor famine, but I will give you true peace in this place.’”
14Then Adonai said to me: “The prophets prophesy lies in My Name! I did not send them, nor commanded them, nor did I speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, divination, futility, a delusion of their heart.”
15Therefore thus says Adonai: “About the prophets who prophesy in My Name, though I did not send them, yet keep saying, ‘Sword and famine will never be in this land’—by sword and famine will those prophets be consumed.
16Also the people to whom they prophesy will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, because of the famine and the sword. They will have no one to bury them, their wives, their sons or their daughters. For I will pour their disaster on them.”
17You will say this word to them: “Let my eyes overflow with tears. Night and day, may they never stop. For the virgin daughter of my people is crushed with a great blow, with a sorely infected wound.”
Intercessory Confession
18If I go out into the field, see, those slain by the sword! And if I enter into the city, see, the sick with famine! For both prophet and kohen will travel to a land they do not know.
19Have You utterly rejected Judah? Has Your soul loathed Zion? Why have You smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for shalom, but nothing good came, and for a time of healing, but suddenly, terror!
20We acknowledge our wickedness, Adonai, the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You.
21Do not despise us, for Your Name’s sake. Do not dishonor Your glorious throne. Remember Your covenant with us— do not break it!
22Can any of the idols of the nations bring rain? Or can the skies grant showers? Is it not You, Adonai our God? Do we not wait for You? For You have done all these things.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society