Jeremiah 14
14
Sword, Famine, and Pestilence
1The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts.
2“Judah mourns,
And #2 Kin. 25:3; Is. 3:26her gates languish;
They #Jer. 8:21mourn for the land,
And #1 Sam. 5:12; Jer. 11:11; 46:12; Zech. 7:13the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
3Their nobles have sent their lads for water;
They went to the cisterns and found no water.
They returned with their vessels empty;
They were #Job 6:20; Ps. 40:14ashamed and confounded
#2 Sam. 15:30And covered their heads.
4Because the ground is parched,
For there was #Jer. 3:3; Ezek. 22:24no rain in the land,
The plowmen were ashamed;
They covered their heads.
5Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field,
But left because there was no grass.
6And #Job 39:5, 6; Jer. 2:24the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights;
They sniffed at the wind like jackals;
Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”
7O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us,
Do it #Ps. 25:11; Jer. 14:21for Your name’s sake;
For our backslidings are many,
We have sinned against You.
8#Jer. 17:13O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble,
Why should You be like a stranger in the land,
And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
9Why should You be like a man astonished,
Like a mighty one #Is. 59:1who cannot save?
Yet You, O Lord, #Ex. 29:45; Lev. 26:11; Ps. 46:5; Jer. 8:19are in our midst,
And we are called by Your name;
Do not leave us!
10Thus says the Lord to this people:
#Jer. 2:23–25“Thus they have loved to wander;
They have not restrained their feet.
Therefore the Lord does not accept them;
#(Jer. 44:21–23); Hos. 8:13He will remember their iniquity now,
And punish their sins.”
11Then the Lord said to me, #Ex. 32:10; Jer. 7:16; 11:14“Do not pray for this people, for their good. 12#Prov. 1:28; (Is. 1:15; 58:3–6); Ezek. 8:18; Mic. 3:4; Zech. 7:13When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and #Jer. 6:20when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But #Jer. 9:16I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.”
13#Jer. 4:10Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured #Jer. 8:11; 23:17peace in this place.’ ”
14And the Lord said to me, #Jer. 27:10“The prophets prophesy lies in My name. #Jer. 29:8, 9I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the #Jer. 23:16; Ezek. 12:24deceit of their heart. 15Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, #Jer. 5:12; Ezek. 14:10and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! 16And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; #Ps. 79:2, 3; Jer. 7:32; 15:2, 3they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’
17“Therefore you shall say this word to them:
#Jer. 9:1; 13:17; Lam. 1:16‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
#Is. 37:22; Jer. 8:21; Lam. 1:15; 2:13For the virgin daughter of my people
Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.
18If I go out to #Jer. 6:25; Lam. 1:20; Ezek. 7:15the field,
Then behold, those slain with the sword!
And if I enter the city,
Then behold, those sick from famine!
Yes, both prophet and #Jer. 23:11priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”
The People Plead for Mercy
19#Jer. 6:30; 7:29; 12:7; Lam. 5:22Have You utterly rejected Judah?
Has Your soul loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that #Jer. 15:18there is no healing for us?
#Job 30:26; Jer. 8:15; 1 Thess. 5:3We looked for peace, but there was no good;
And for the time of healing, and there was trouble.
20We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness
And the iniquity of our #Neh. 9:2; Ps. 32:5; Jer. 3:25fathers,
For #Ps. 106:6; Jer. 8:14; 14:7; Dan. 9:8we have sinned against You.
21Do not abhor us, for Your name’s sake;
Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory.
#Ps. 106:45Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.
22#Zech. 10:1Are there any among #Deut. 32:21the idols of the nations that can cause #1 Kin. 17:1; Jer. 5:24rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
#Ps. 135:7Are You not He, O Lord our God?
Therefore we will wait for You,
Since You have made all these.
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Jeremiah 14: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
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.
Her cities are dying.
They cry out for the land.
A cry goes up to God from Jerusalem.
3The important men send their servants to get water.
The servants go to the wells,
but they find no water.
So they return with empty jars.
They are ashamed and embarrassed.
They 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 fawn.
She does this because there is no grass.
6Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills.
They sniff the wind like wild dogs.
But their eyes are dull 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, you are the Hope of Israel.
You have saved Israel in times of trouble.
But now you are like a stranger in the land.
You are like a traveler who only stays one night.
9You seem like a man who has been attacked by surprise.
You seem 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 I, the Lord, will not accept them.
I will now remember the evil they do.
I will punish them for their sins.”
11Then the Lord said this to me: “Don’t pray for good things to happen to the people of Judah. 12Even if they give up eating, I will not listen to their prayers. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. I will destroy the people of Judah with war, hunger and terrible diseases.”
13But I said, “Oh! Lord God, the false prophets keep telling the people something different! They are saying, ‘You will not suffer from an enemy’s sword. You will never suffer from hunger. 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. I did not appoint them or speak to them. They have been prophesying false visions, idolatries and worthless magic. And they have been prophesying 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 said, ‘No enemy with swords will ever attack this country. There will never be hunger in this land.’ Those prophets will die from hunger. And an enemy’s sword will kill them. 16And the people the prophets spoke to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem. They will die from hunger and from an enemy’s sword. No one will be there to bury them. And no one will bury their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will punish them.
17“Speak this message to the people of Judah:
‘Let my eyes be filled with tears.
I will cry night and day, without stopping.
I will cry for my people.
They have received a terrible blow.
They have been hurt very 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 very wicked.
We admit 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.
Do not break it.
22Do foreign idols have the power to bring rain?
Does the sky itself have the power to send down showers of rain?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
You are our only hope.
You are the one who made all these things.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.