The Drought
2
3
4
The ground is cracked
since no rain has fallen on the land.
The farmers are ashamed;(E)
they cover their heads.
5 since no rain has fallen on the land.
The farmers are ashamed;(E)
they cover their heads.
Even the doe in the field
gives birth and abandons her fawn
since there is no grass.
6 gives birth and abandons her fawn
since there is no grass.
Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights(F)
panting for air like jackals.
Their eyes fail
because there are no green plants.
7 panting for air like jackals.
Their eyes fail
because there are no green plants.
Though our guilt testifies against us,
Yahweh, act for Your name’s sake.
Indeed, our rebellions(G) are many;
we have sinned against You.
8 Yahweh, act for Your name’s sake.
Indeed, our rebellions(G) are many;
we have sinned against You.
Hope of Israel,(H)
its Savior in time of distress,
why are You like a foreigner in the land,
like a traveler stopping only for the night?
9
its Savior in time of distress,
why are You like a foreigner in the land,
like a traveler stopping only for the night?
10 This is what the Lord says concerning these people:
False Prophets to be Punished
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of these people.(M)
12 If 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.”(N)
13 And I replied, “Oh no, Lord God! The prophets are telling them, ‘You won’t see sword or suffer famine. I will certainly give you true peace in this place.’”(O)
14 But 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(P) 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.
16 The 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(Q)—they, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. I will pour out their own evil on them.”
Jeremiah’s Request
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18
If I go out to the field,
look—those slain by the sword!
If I enter the city,
look—those ill(U) from famine!
For both prophet and priest
travel to a land they do not know.
look—those slain by the sword!
If I enter the city,
look—those ill(U) from famine!
For both prophet and priest
travel to a land they do not know.
Footnotes:
a.
Jeremiah 14:3: Lit little ones