Jeremiah 14:1–10

THE DROUGHT

14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:h

2 Judah mourns;

her city gates languish.i

Her people are on the ground in mourning;

Jerusalem’s cry rises up.j

3 Their nobles send their servantsC for water.

They go to the cisterns;

they find no water;

their containers return empty.

They are ashamed and humiliated;

they cover their heads.k

4 The ground is cracked

since no rain has fallen on the land.

The farmers are ashamed;l

they cover their heads.

5 Even the doe in the field

gives birth and abandons her fawn

since there is no grass.

6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heightsm

panting for air like jackals.

Their eyes fail

because there are no green plants.

7 Though our iniquities testify against us,

Lord, act for your name’s sake.

Indeed, our rebellionsn are many;

we have sinned against you.o

8 Hope of Israel,p

its Savior in time of distress,

why are you like a resident alien in the land,

like a traveler stopping only for the night?

9 Why are you like a helpless man,

like a warrior unable to save?q

Yet you are among us, Lord,r

and we bear your name.

Don’t leave us!

10 This is what the Lord says concerning these people:

Truly they love to wander;s

they never rest their feet.

So the Lord does not accept them.

Now he will remember their iniquity

and punish their sins.t