Drought, Famine, Sword, Pestilence
1 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought.
2 “Judah mourns,
and its gates languish.
They sit in black on the ground.
The cry of Jerusalem goes up.
3 Their nobles send their little ones to the waters.
They come to the cisterns,
and find no water.
They return with their vessels empty.
They are disappointed and confounded,
and cover their heads.
4 Because of the ground which is cracked,
because no rain has been in the land,
the plowmen are disappointed.
They cover their heads.
5 Yes, the doe in the field also calves and forsakes 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,
because there is no vegetation.
7 Though our iniquities testify against us,
work for your name’s sake, Lord,
for our rebellion is great.
We have sinned against you.
8 O Hope of Israel,
its Savior in the time of trouble,
why should you be as a foreigner in the land
and as a wayfaring man
who turns aside to stay for a night?
9 Why should you be like a scared man,
like a warrior who cannot save?
Yet you, Lord, are in the midst of us,
and we are called by your name.
Do not leave us.
10 The Lord says to this people,
“Even so they have loved to wander.
They have not restrained their feet.
Therefore the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity,
and punish them for their sins.”
11 The Lord said to me, “Do not pray for this people, for their good. 12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry, and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them; but I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
13 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! The prophets tell them, ‘You will not see the sword, nor will you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’ ”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in my name. I did not send them. I did not command them. I did not speak to them. They prophesy to you a lying vision, divination, and a thing of nothing, and the deceit of their own heart.
15 Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, but I did not send them, yet they say ‘Sword and famine will not be in this land.’ Those prophets will be consumed by sword and famine. 16 The people to whom they prophesy will be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. They will have no one to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, or their daughters, for I will pour their wickedness on them.
17 You shall say this word to them:
‘My eyes overflow with tears night and day,
without ceasing,
for the virgin daughter of my people
is broken with a great breach,
with a very grievous wound.
18 If I go out into the field,
there they are – those who have been slain with the sword!
If I enter into the city,
there they are – those who are sick with famine!
For both the prophet and the priest go around the land
without knowledge.’ ”
A Prayer for Mercy
19 Have you utterly rejected Judah?
Have you loathed Zion?
Why have you struck us, and there is no healing for us?
We looked for peace, but no good came;
and for a time of healing, but only dismay!
20 We acknowledge, Lord, our wickedness
and the iniquity of our fathers,
for we have sinned against you.
21 Do not abhor us, for your name’s sake.
Do not disgrace the throne of your glory.
Remember, and do not break your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the vanities of the nations
that can cause rain?
Or can the sky give showers?
Are you not he, the Lord our God?
Therefore we will wait for you,
for you have made all these things.