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

FALSE PROPHETS TO BE PUNISHED

11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of these people.u 12 If they fast, I will not hear their cry of despair. If they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. Rather, I will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague.”v

13 And I replied, “Oh no, Lord God! The prophets are telling them, ‘You won’t see sword or suffer famine. I will certainly give you lasting peace in this place.’ ”w

14 But the Lord said to me, “These prophets are prophesying a lie in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceitx of their own minds.y

15 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, though I did not send them, and who say, ‘There will never be sword or famine in this land.’ By sword and famine these prophets will meet their end. 16 The people they are prophesying to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one to bury themz—they, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. I will pour out their own evil on them.”

JEREMIAH’S REQUEST

17 You are to speak this word to them:

Let my eyes overflow with tears;

day and night may they not stop,a

for the virgin daughter of my peoplea

has been destroyed by a crushing blow,b

an extremely severe wound.c

18 If I go out to the field,

look—those slain by the sword!

If I enter the city,

look—those illd from famine!

For both prophet and priest

travel to a land they do not know.