Jeremiah:14

---

Seeker Overlay ON

* Jehovah spoke his word about the drought to Jeremiah : * Judah mourns and its gates collapse . The people of Judah are filled with bereavement as they sit on the ground . Their cry goes up from Jerusalem . * Important people send their assistants out for water . They do not find any water at the cisterns . They return with their containers empty . They cover their heads , because they are ashamed and dishonored . * There is no rain in the land and the ground is cracked . The farmers are disappointed . They cover their heads . * Even deer in the fields give birth and abandon their young because there is no grass . * Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills . They sniff the wind like jackals . Their eyesight fails because they have no green plants . * Do something , Jehovah , for the sake of your name , even though our iniquities testify against us . We have been unfaithful and have sinned against you . * You are Israel 's hope , its savior in times of trouble . Why are you like a stranger in the land , like a traveler who stays only one night ? * Why are you like someone taken by surprise , like a mighty man who cannot help ? You , O Jehovah , are among us . We are called by your name . Do not leave us ! * This is what Jehovah says about these people : »They love to wander . They do not keep their feet where they belong . Therefore Jehovah is not happy with them . He will remember their crimes and punish their sins .« * Jehovah said to me : »Do not pray for the good of these people . * »Even if they go without food , I will not listen to their cries for help . Even if they sacrifice burnt offerings and grain offerings , I will not be pleased with them . But I will destroy these people with wars , famines , and plagues .« * I said : »Alas , O Lord Jehovah , prophets are telling them : ‘You will not see wars or famines , for I will give you lasting peace in this place .« * Jehovah then told me : »These are the lies that the prophets are telling in my name : They claim that I sent them . They claim that I commanded them . They claim that I spoke to them . They even dreamed up visions to tell you . Their predictions are worthless ! They are the products of their own imagination . * »I did not send these prophets . Yet , they prophesy in my name that there will be no wars or famines in this land . So this is what I , Jehovah , say about them : ‘Wars and famines will bring an end to these prophets . * »‘The people to whom they prophesy will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem . They will be victims of famines and wars . No one will bury them , their wives , their sons , or their daughters . I will pour on them the destruction that they deserve .’ * »Say this to them : ‘My eyes flow with tears day and night without stopping because my dear people will suffer massive destruction . It will be a very serious blow . * »‘If I go to the field , I see those killed because of war . If I go to the city , I see those sick because of famine . Prophets and priests wander through a land they have not heard of .’« * Have you completely rejected Judah ? Do you despise Zion ? Why have you struck us so hard that we cannot heal ? We hope for peace , but no good comes from it . We hope for a time of healing , but there 's only terror . * O Jehovah , we recognize our wickedness and the wrongs done by our ancestors . We have sinned against you . * For the sake of your name , do not despise us . Do not dishonor your glorious throne . Remember your promise to us . Do not break it . * The valueless gods of the nations cannot make it rain . The skies cannot give showers by themselves . But you can , O Jehovah our God . We hope in you because you do all these things .

---