Jeremiah 14
14
Drought, Famine, Sword
1This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2“Judah mourns,
her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3The nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns
but find no water.
They return with their jars unfilled;
dismayed and despairing,
they cover their heads.
4The ground is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;
the farmers are dismayed
and cover their heads.
5Even the doe in the field
deserts her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
6Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights
and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
for lack of food.”
7Although our sins testify against us,
do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.
For we have often rebelled;
we have sinned against you.
8You who are the hope of Israel,
its Savior in times of distress,
why are you like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only a night?
9Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a warrior powerless to save?
You are among us, Lord,
and we bear your name;
do not forsake us!
10This is what the Lord says about this people:
“They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them;
he will now remember their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.”
11Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. 12Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.”
13But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.’ ”
14Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries#14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations and the delusions of their own minds. 15Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine. 16And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them, their wives, their sons and their daughters. I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.
17“Speak this word to them:
“ ‘Let my eyes overflow with tears
night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin Daughter, my people,
has suffered a grievous wound,
a crushing blow.
18If I go into the country,
I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
I see the ravages of famine.
Both prophet and priest
have gone to a land they know not.’ ”
19Have you rejected Judah completely?
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
so that we cannot be healed?
We hoped for peace
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.
20We acknowledge our wickedness, Lord,
and the guilt of our ancestors;
we have indeed sinned against you.
21For the sake of your name do not despise us;
do not dishonor your glorious throne.
Remember your covenant with us
and do not break it.
22Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
Therefore our hope is in you,
for you are the one who does all this.
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Jeremias (Jeremiah) 14
14
1The word of the Lord that came to Jeremias, concerning the words of the drought.
2Judea hath mourned, and the gates thereof are fallen and are become obscure on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
3The 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.
4For the destruction of the land, because there came no rain upon the earth, the husbandmen were confounded: they covered their heads.
5Yea, the hind also brought forth in the field, and left it, because there was no grass.
6And the wild asses stood upon the rocks, they snuffed up the wind like dragons: their eyes failed, because there was no grass.
7If 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.
8O 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?
9Why 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.
10Thus 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.
11And the Lord said to me: Pray not for this people for their good.
12When 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.
13And 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.
14And 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.
15Therefore, 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.
16And 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.
17And 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.
18If 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.
19Hast 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.
20We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, the iniquities of our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
21Give 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.
22Are 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.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.