The Drought
1This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2Judah mourns;
her city gates languish.
Her people are on the ground in mourning;
Jerusalem’s cry rises up.
3Their nobles send their servants for water.
They go to the cisterns;
they find no water;
their containers return empty.
They are ashamed and humiliated;
they cover their heads.
4The ground is cracked
since no rain has fallen on the land.
The farmers are ashamed;
they cover their heads.
5Even the doe in the field
gives birth and abandons her fawn
since there is no grass.
6Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights
panting for air like jackals.
Their eyes fail
because there are no green plants.
7Though our iniquities testify against us,
Lord, act for your name’s sake.
Indeed, our rebellions are many;
we have sinned against you.
8Hope of Israel,
its Savior in time of distress,
why are you like a resident alien in the land,
like a traveler stopping only for the night?
9Why are you like a helpless man,
like a warrior unable to save?
Yet you are among us, Lord,
and we bear your name.
Don’t leave us!
10This is what the Lord says concerning these people:
Truly they love to wander;
they never rest their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.
False Prophets to Be Punished
11Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of these people. 12If they fast, I will not hear their cry of despair. If they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. Rather, I will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague.”
13And I replied, “Oh no, Lord God! The prophets are telling them, ‘You won’t see sword or suffer famine. I will certainly give you lasting peace in this place.’”
14But the Lord said to me, “These prophets are prophesying a lie in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceit of their own minds.
15“Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, though I did not send them, and who say, ‘There will never be sword or famine in this land.’ By sword and famine these prophets will meet their end. 16The people they are prophesying to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one to bury them — they, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. I will pour out their own evil on them.”
Jeremiah’s Request
17You are to speak this word to them:
Let my eyes overflow with tears;
day and night may they not stop,
for my dearest people
have been destroyed by a crushing blow,
an extremely severe wound.
18If I go out to the field,
look — those slain by the sword!
If I enter the city,
look — those ill from famine!
For both prophet and priest
travel to a land they do not know.
19Have you completely rejected Judah?
Do you detest Zion?
Why do you strike us
with no hope of healing for us?
We hoped for peace,
but there was nothing good;
for a time of healing,
but there was only terror.
20We acknowledge our wickedness, Lord,
the iniquity of our ancestors;
indeed, we have sinned against you.
21For your name’s sake, don’t despise us.
Don’t disdain your glorious throne.
Remember your covenant with us;
do not break it.
22Can any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
Or can the skies alone give showers?
Are you not the Lord our God?
We therefore put our hope in you,
for you have done all these things.