A Lament over the Ravages of Drought1
14:2 “The people of Judah are in mourning.
The people in her cities are pining away.
They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow.4
Cries of distress come up to me5 from Jerusalem.6
14:3 The leading men of the cities send their servants for water.
They go to the cisterns,7 but they do not find any water there.
They return with their containers8 empty.
Disappointed and dismayed, they bury their faces in their hands.9
14:4 They are dismayed because the ground is cracked10
because there has been no rain in the land.
The farmers, too, are dismayed
and bury their faces in their hands.
14:5 Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn11 in the field
because there is no grass.
14:6 Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops
and pant for breath like jackals.
Their eyes are strained looking for food,
because there is none to be found.”12
14:7 Then I said,13
even though our sins speak out against us.15
Indeed,16 we have turned away from you many times.
We have sinned against you.
14:8 You have been the object of Israel’s hopes.
You have saved them when they were in trouble.
Why have you become like a resident foreigner17 in the land?
Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?
14:9 Why should you be like someone who is helpless,18
like a champion19 who cannot save anyone?
You are indeed with us,20
and we belong to you.21
Do not abandon us!”
14:10 Then the
“They truly23 love to go astray.
They cannot keep from running away from me.24
So I am not pleased with them.
I will now call to mind25 the wrongs they have done26
and punish them for their sins.”
Judgment for Believing the Misleading Lies of the False Prophets
14:11 Then the
14:13 Then I said, “Oh, Lord
14:14 Then the
Lament over Present Destruction and Threat of More to Come
14:17 “Tell these people this, Jeremiah:43
‘My eyes overflow with tears
day and night without ceasing.44
For my people, my dear children,45 have suffered a crushing blow.
They have suffered a serious wound.46
14:18 If I go out into the countryside,
I see those who have been killed in battle.
If I go into the city,
I see those who are sick because of starvation.47
For both prophet and priest go about their own business
in the land without having any real understanding.’”48
14:19 Then I said,
Do you despise50 the city of Zion?
Why have you struck us with such force
that we are beyond recovery?51
We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it.
We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror.52
We confess that our ancestors have done wrong.53
We have indeed54 sinned against you.
14:21 For the honor of your name,55 do not treat Jerusalem56 with contempt.
Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits.57
Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it!58
14:22 Do any of the worthless idols59 of the nations cause rain to fall?
Do the skies themselves send showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this?60
So we put our hopes in you61
because you alone do all this.”