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Physical and Spiritual Drought

14 The word of Adonai that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts:
Judah will mourn, and her gates languish.
    They will bow in black to the ground
        And Jerusalem’s wail will go up.
Their 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.
Because the ground is cracked,
    since there has been no rain in the land,
    the farmers are ashamed—
        they cover their heads.
For even the doe in the field
    abandons her newborn fawn,
        because there is no grass.
Wild donkeys stand on the barren hills,
    as they pant for air like jackals.
    Their eyes fail,
    since there is no foliage.
Though our iniquities testify against us,
        Adonai, act for Your Name’s sake.
    For our backslidings are many.
    We have sinned against You.
O 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?
Why 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!

10 Thus 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.

11 So Adonai said to me: “Do not pray for the good of this people. 12 If 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.”

13 Then 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.’”

14 Then 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.”

15 Therefore 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. 16 Also 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.”

17 You 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

18 If 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.
19 Have 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![a]
20 We acknowledge our wickedness, Adonai,
    the iniquity of our fathers,
    for we have sinned against You.
21 Do not despise us, for Your Name’s sake.
    Do not dishonor Your glorious throne.
    Remember Your covenant with us—
    do not break it!
22 Can 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.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 14:19 cf. 1 Thes. 5:3.

Drought, Famine, Sword

14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(A)

“Judah mourns,(B)
    her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
    and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
The nobles send their servants for water;
    they go to the cisterns
    but find no water.(C)
They return with their jars unfilled;
    dismayed and despairing,
    they cover their heads.(D)
The ground is cracked
    because there is no rain in the land;(E)
the farmers are dismayed
    and cover their heads.
Even the doe in the field
    deserts her newborn fawn
    because there is no grass.(F)
Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights(G)
    and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
    for lack of food.”(H)

Although our sins testify(I) against us,
    do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.(J)
For we have often rebelled;(K)
    we have sinned(L) against you.
You who are the hope(M) of Israel,
    its Savior(N) in times of distress,(O)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
    like a traveler who stays only a night?
Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
    like a warrior powerless to save?(P)
You are among(Q) us, Lord,
    and we bear your name;(R)
    do not forsake(S) us!

10 This is what the Lord says about this people:

“They greatly love to wander;
    they do not restrain their feet.(T)
So the Lord does not accept(U) them;
    he will now remember(V) their wickedness
    and punish them for their sins.”(W)

11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray(X) for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry;(Y) though they offer burnt offerings(Z) and grain offerings,(AA) I will not accept(AB) them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,(AC) famine(AD) and plague.”(AE)

13 But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets(AF) keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine.(AG) Indeed, I will give you lasting peace(AH) in this place.’”

14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies(AI) in my name. I have not sent(AJ) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,(AK) divinations,(AL) idolatries[a] and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish(AM) by sword and famine.(AN) 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury(AO) them, their wives, their sons and their daughters.(AP) I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.(AQ)

17 “Speak this word to them:

“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears(AR)
    night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin(AS) Daughter, my people,
    has suffered a grievous wound,
    a crushing blow.(AT)
18 If I go into the country,
    I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
    I see the ravages of famine.(AU)
Both prophet and priest
    have gone to a land they know not.(AV)’”

19 Have you rejected Judah completely?(AW)
    Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
    so that we cannot be healed?(AX)
We hoped for peace
    but no good has come,
for a time of healing
    but there is only terror.(AY)
20 We acknowledge(AZ) our wickedness, Lord,
    and the guilt of our ancestors;(BA)
    we have indeed sinned(BB) against you.
21 For the sake of your name(BC) do not despise us;
    do not dishonor your glorious throne.(BD)
Remember your covenant(BE) with us
    and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols(BF) of the nations bring rain?(BG)
    Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
    Therefore our hope is in you,
    for you are the one who does all this.(BH)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations