Jeremiah 14
14
The Land Dries Up
1When there had been no rain for a long time, the Lord told me to say to the people:
2Judah and Jerusalem weep
as the land dries up.
3Rulers send their servants
to the storage pits for water.#14.3 storage pits for water: Since water was scarce, pits were dug into solid rock for collecting and storing rainwater. These pits were called “cisterns.”
But there's none to be found;
they return in despair
with their jars still empty.
4There has been no rain,
and farmers feel sick
as they watch cracks appear
in the dry ground.#14.4 cracks … ground: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5A deer gives birth in a field,
then abandons her newborn fawn
and leaves in search of grass.
6Wild donkeys go blind
from starvation.
So they stand on barren hilltops
and sniff the air,#14.6 sniff the air: The Hebrew text has “sniff the air, like jackals” (see the note at 9.11).
hoping to smell green grass.
The Lord's People Pray
7We rejected you and did evil,
so we deserve to be punished.
But if you rescue us, Lord,
everyone will see
how great you are.
8You're our only hope;
you alone can save us now.
You help us one day,
but you're gone the next.
9Did this disaster
take you by surprise?
Are you a warrior
with your hands tied?
You have chosen us,
and your temple is here.
Don't abandon us!
The Lord's Answer
10My people,
you love to wander away;
you don't even try
to stay close to me.
So now I will reject you
and punish you for your sins.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Lying Prophets
11The Lord said, “Jeremiah, don't ask me to help these people. 12They may even go without eating#14.12 go without eating: The people of Israel sometimes went without eating to show sorrow for their sins. and offer sacrifices to please me#14.12 sacrifices to please me: These sacrifices have traditionally been called “whole burnt offerings” because the whole animal was burned on the altar. A main purpose of such sacrifices was to please the Lord with the smell of the sacrifice, and so in the CEV they are sometimes called “sacrifices to please the Lord.” and to give thanks.#14.12 sacrifices … to give thanks: These sacrifices have traditionally been called “grain offerings.” A main purpose of such sacrifices was to thank the Lord with a gift of grain, and so in the CEV they are sometimes called “sacrifices to give thanks to the Lord.” But when they cry out for my help, I won't listen, and I won't accept their sacrifices. Instead, I'll send war, starvation, and disease to wipe them out.”
13I replied, “The other prophets keep telling everyone that you won't send starvation or war, and that you're going to give us peace.”
14The Lord answered:
They claim to speak for me, but they're lying! I didn't even speak to them, much less choose them to be my prophets. Their messages come from worthless dreams, useless fortunetelling, and their own imaginations.
15Those lying prophets say there will be peace and plenty of food. But I say that those same prophets will die from war and hunger. 16And everyone who listens to them will be killed, just as they deserve. Their dead bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, because their families will also be dead, and no one will be left to bury them.#14.16 dead bodies … bury them: A proper burial was considered very important.
17Jeremiah, go and tell the people how you feel about all this.
So I told them:
“Tears will flood my eyes
both day and night,
because my nation suffers
from a deadly wound.
18In the fields I see the bodies
of those killed in battle.
And in the towns I see crowds
dying of hunger.
But the prophets and priests
go about their business,
without understanding
what has happened.”#14.18 go about … has happened: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Jeremiah Prays to the Lord
19Have you rejected Judah, Lord?
Do you hate Jerusalem?
Why did you strike down Judah
with a fatal wound?
We had hoped for peace
and a time of healing,
but all we got was terror.
20We and our ancestors are guilty
of rebelling against you.
21If you save us, it will show
how great you are.
Don't let our enemies
disgrace your temple,
your beautiful throne.
Don't forget that you promised
to rescue us.
22Idols can't send rain,
and showers don't fall
by themselves.
Only you control the rain,
so we put our trust in you,
the Lord our God.
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Jeremiah 14: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. 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.
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