Old Testament · Prophets

Jeremiah chapter 14

This is the word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah about the :Judah is in mourning, her are collapsing. Her people in grief, and the cry of Jerusalem rises up.The wealthy send their servants for water. They go to the but find nothing. They come back with empty jars, humiliated and devastated, in shame.The ground is because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are humiliated, covering their heads.Even the in the field abandons her newborn fawn because there is no grass. stand on the bare hilltops, . Their eyes grow dim because there is nothing to eat.Even though our testify against us, act for the sake of , Yahweh. We have so many times. We have failed you. of Israel, its in times of trouble — why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who only stops for the night?Why are you like someone caught off guard, like a who can’t save anyone? Yet you are right here among us, Yahweh. We . Don’t abandon us.This is what Yahweh says about this people: “They love to . They never rest their feet. So Yahweh takes no pleasure in them. Now he will remember their and hold them accountable for their .”Then Yahweh said to me, “Don’t pray for the of this people.”“When they , I won’t listen to their cry. When they offer and , I won’t accept them. Instead, I will finish them off with war, famine, and disease.”Then I said, “But Yahweh, — look, the prophets keep telling them, ‘You won’t see war, and famine will never touch you. Yahweh will give you in this place.’”Yahweh said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I never sent them. I never commanded them. I never spoke to them. They are feeding you , , and the .”So this is what Yahweh says about the prophets who speak in my name, even though I never sent them — the ones saying, ‘War and famine will never touch this land’: Those very prophets will die by war and famine.And the people they prophesied to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will be — not them, not their wives, not their sons, not their daughters. I will pour out on them the .“Say this word to them: ‘Let my eyes run with tears night and day, without stopping. The has been with a devastating blow, a wound that will not heal.’If I go out to the fields — look, those killed by the sword. If I walk into the city — look, the ravages of famine. Even the prophet and the priest .”Have you completely rejected Judah? Does despise ? Why have you struck us down so there is no healing for us? We hoped for — but nothing good came. We hoped for a time of healing — but there is only terror.We know how we’ve been, Yahweh. We know the of our ancestors. We have failed you.Don’t us, for the sake of your name. Don’t dishonor your . Remember your with us — don’t break it.Can any of the of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send showers? No — it’s you, Yahweh our God. So we put our in you, because you are the one who does all this.