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
The Great Drought
1The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2Judah mourns
and her gates languish;
they lie in gloom on the ground,
and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
3Her nobles send their servants for water;
they come to the cisterns,
they find no water,
they return with their vessels empty.
They are ashamed and dismayed
and cover their heads,
4because the ground is cracked.
Because there has been no rain on the land
the farmers are dismayed;
they cover their heads.
5Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
6The wild asses stand on the bare heights,#14.6 Or the trails
they pant for air like jackals;
their eyes fail
because there is no herbage.
7Although our iniquities testify against us,
act, O Lord, for your name's sake;
our apostasies indeed are many,
and we have sinned against you.
8O hope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler turning aside for the night?
9Why should you be like someone confused,
like a mighty warrior who cannot give help?
Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,
and we are called by your name;
do not forsake us!
10Thus says the Lord concerning this people:
Truly they have loved to wander,
they have not restrained their feet;
therefore the Lord does not accept them,
now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.
11The Lord said to me: Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12Although they fast, I do not hear their cry, and although they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I do not accept them; but by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence I consume them.
Denunciation of Lying Prophets
13Then I said: “Ah, Lord God! Here are the prophets saying to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you true peace in this place.’ ” 14And the Lord said to me: The prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. 15Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name though I did not send them, and who say, “Sword and famine shall not come on this land”: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16And the people to whom they prophesy shall be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword. There shall be no one to bury them—themselves, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their wickedness upon them.
17You shall say to them this word:
Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for the virgin daughter—my people—is struck down with a crushing blow,
with a very grievous wound.
18If I go out into the field,
look—those killed by the sword!
And if I enter the city,
look—those sick with#14.18 Heb look—the sicknesses of famine!
For both prophet and priest ply their trade throughout the land,
and have no knowledge.
The People Plead for Mercy
19Have you completely rejected Judah?
Does your heart loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
so that there is no healing for us?
We look for peace, but find no good;
for a time of healing, but there is terror instead.
20We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
the iniquity of our ancestors,
for we have sinned against you.
21Do not spurn us, for your name's sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
remember and do not break your covenant with us.
22Can any idols of the nations bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
for it is you who do all this.
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.