1 T hat which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah in regard to the drought:

2 “ Judah mourns And her gates languish; They sit on the ground in mourning, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended.

3 “ Their nobles have sent their servants for water; They have come to the cisterns and found no water. They have returned with their vessels empty; They have been put to shame and humiliated, And they cover their heads.

4 “ Because the ground is cracked, For there has been no rain on the land; The farmers have been put to shame, They have covered their heads.

5 “ For even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young, Because there is no grass.

6 “ The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights; They pant for air like jackals, Their eyes fail For there is no vegetation.

7 “ Although our iniquities testify against us, O Lord, act for Your name’s sake! Truly our apostasies have been many, We have sinned against You.

8 “ O Hope of Israel, Its Savior in time of distress, Why are You like a stranger in the land Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?

9 “ Why are You like a man dismayed, Like a mighty man who cannot save? Yet You are in our midst, O Lord, And we are called by Your name; Do not forsake us!”

10 T hus says the Lord to this people, “Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account.”

11 S o the Lord said to me, “ Do not pray for the welfare of this people.

12 W hen they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather I am going to make an end of them by the sword, famine and pestilence.” False Prophets

13 B ut, “Ah, Lord God!” I said, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”

14 T hen the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds.

15 T herefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them—yet they keep saying, ‘There will be no sword or famine in this land’— by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end!

16 T he people also to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to bury them— neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters—for I will pour out their own wickedness on them.

17 “ You will say this word to them, ‘ Let my eyes flow down with tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow, With a sorely infected wound.

18 ‘ If I go out to the country, Behold, those slain with the sword! Or if I enter the city, Behold, diseases of famine! For both prophet and priest Have gone roving about in the land that they do not know.’”

19 H ave You completely rejected Judah? Or have You loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited for peace, but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!

20 W e know our wickedness, O Lord, The iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You.

21 D o not despise us, for Your own name’s sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory; Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us.

22 A re there any among the idols of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, O Lord our God? Therefore we hope in You, For You are the one who has done all these things.