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
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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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.