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word of the Lord came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2 “Judah mourns,
the gates of her settlements languish;
the people mourn for the land,
and the cry of Jerusalem rises up.
3 Her nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns
but they find no water,
they return with their containers empty.
They are ashamed and despairing;
they cover their heads.
4 The ground is cracked,
for there is no rain in the land.
The farmers are dismayed,
and they cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field abandons her newborn fawn,
for there is no grass.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights;
they snort at the wind like dragons;
their eyes fail for lack of pastures.”
7 Though our sins testify against us,
O Lord, act for the sake of Your name;
though our backslidings are indeed many,
and we have sinned against You.
8 O Hope of Israel,
its Saviour in the time of trouble,
why are You like a stranger in the land,
and like a traveller who only stays for a night?
9 Why are You like a man taken by surprise,
like a warrior who cannot save?
Yet you, O Lord, are in our midst,
and we are called by Your name;
do not forsake us!
10 This is what the Lord says concerning this people:
“They truly love to wander;
they have not restrained their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them;
He will remember their wickedness now,
and punish their sins.”
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. 12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
13 But I said, “Ah Lord God, the prophets are saying to them, ‘You will not see the sword, nor will you suffer famine, for I will give you lasting peace in this place’.”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “These prophets are prophesying lies in My name. I have not sent them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They prophesy to you a false vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.
15 “Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who prophesy in My name, though I did not send them, and who say: ‘Sword and famine will not come upon this land’: ‘By sword and famine these prophets will be consumed! 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out onto the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one left to bury them—neither they themselves, their wives, their sons, or their daughters. For I will pour out their own wickedness on themselves’.
17 “You are to speak this word to them:
‘Let my eyes overflow with tears;
night and day let them not cease,
for the virgin daughter of my people
has been struck down with a crushing blow,
a grievous and severe wound.
18 If I go out to the field,
then I see those slain by the sword!
If I go into the city,
then I see those who are made sick by famine!
For both prophet and priest have gone
to a land they do not know’.”
19 Have You completely rejected Judah?
Does Your soul despise Zion?
Why have You struck us down
so there is no healing for us?
We looked for peace,
but no good has come;
and for a time of healing,
but there was only terror.
20 O Lord, we acknowledge our wickedness,
and the guilt of our fathers;
for we have sinned against You.
21 For the sake of Your name, do not despise us;
do not dishonour the throne of Your glory.
Remember Your covenant with us,
and do not break it.
22 Can any of the worthless idols among the nations send rain?
Or can the skies alone give showers?
Are You not the One, O Lord our God?
Therefore we wait for You,
for You have done all these things.