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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Jeremiah 14: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Jeremiah 14
14
The Severe Drought
1That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah concerning the matter#Hebrew “matters” of the severe drought.
2“Judah mourns, and her gates languish,
they are in mourning on the ground,
and the cry of lament of Jerusalem goes up.
3And their nobles send their servants for water.
They come to the pits, they find no water.
They return with their vessels empty.#Literally “without success”
They are ashamed, and they are confounded,
and they cover their heads.#Hebrew “head”
4Because of the ground, which is cracked
because there was no rain on the ground.
The farmers are ashamed,
they cover their heads.#Hebrew “head”
5For even the doe in the field gives birth and forsakes her young,#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
because there is no green growth.
6And wild asses stand on the barren heights,
they gasp for breath like the jackals.
Their eyes fail
because there is no vegetation.”
7Although our iniquities testify against us, O Yahweh,
act for the sake of your name.
Yes, our apostasies are many;
we have sinned against you.
8You are the hope of Israel,
its savior in time of distress.
Why should you be like an alien in the land,
or like a traveler who spreads out his tent #Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation to spend the night?
9Why should you be like a confused man,
like a warrior who is not able to help?
Yet you are in our midst, O Yahweh,
and your name is called upon us.
You must not leave us!
10Thus says Yahweh concerning this people:
“They have loved so much to wander,
they have not spared their feet.
Therefore Yahweh is not favorable to them,
now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.”
Lying Prophets
11So Yahweh said to me, “You must not pray for this people, for their happiness.#Or “good” 12Although they fast, I am not listening to their cry of entreaty. And although they present burnt offering and grain offering, I am not favorable to them. But by the sword, and by the famine, and by the plague, I am about to destroy them.” 13Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh, look, the prophets are saying to them, ‘You will not see the sword, and famine will not be yours, but reliable peace I will give to you in this place.’ ” 14And Yahweh said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies#Hebrew “lie” in my name. I have not sent them, and I have not commanded them, and I have not spoken to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, and a divination, worthless, and the deceitfulness of their minds.”#Literally “heart” 15Therefore#Literally “To thus” thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who prophecy in my name though I have not sent them, yet they are saying, “Sword and famine will not be in this land.” “By the sword and by the famine those prophets will perish. 16And the people to whom they are prophesying will be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem because of#Literally “from the face of” the famine and the sword. And there will be no one who buries them, their wives, or their sons, or their daughters. And I will pour out on them their wickedness.
The Nation Hopes in Yahweh
17“And you shall say to them this word,
‘Let my eyes melt with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for with a great wound the virgin daughter of my people is broken,
with a very incurable wound.
18If I go out into the field,
then look, those slain by the sword.
And if I enter the city,
then look, the sickness of the famine.
For both prophet and priest wander around through the land,
they do not know what is going on.’ ”#Literally “and not they know”
19Have you completely rejected Judah?
Or has your soul#Or “inner self” loathed Zion?
Why have you struck us
so that there is no healing for us?
We hope for peace, but there is no good,
and for a time of healing, but look, there is terror.
20We know, O Yahweh, our wickedness,
the iniquity of our ancestors,#Or “fathers”
for we have sinned against you.
21You must not spurn us#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation for the sake of your name,
you must not dishonor your glorious throne.#Literally “the throne of your glory”
Remember us!#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
You must not break your covenant with us.
22Are there any among the idols of the nation who cause rain to pour?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, O Yahweh our God?
Therefore, we hope in you, for you do all these things.
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