Jeremiah 14–15

14^*The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah ^aconcerning ^†bthe dearth.

²Judah mourneth, and ^cthe gates thereof ^dlanguish;

^eThey are black unto the ground;

And ^fthe cry of Jerusalem ^gis gone up.

³And their nobles have sent ^htheir little ones to the waters:

They came to the pits, and found no water;

They returned with their vessels empty;

ⁱThey were ashamed and confounded, and ^kcovered their heads.

⁴Because the ground is chapt,

For ^lthere was no rain in the earth,

The plowmen were ashamed, ^kthey covered their heads.

⁵Yea, ^mthe hind also calved in the field, and forsook it,

Because there was no grass.

⁶And ⁿthe wild asses did stand in the high places,

ⁿThey snuffed up the wind like ^odragons;

Their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.

⁷O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it ^pfor thy name’s sake: for ^qour backslidings are many; ^rwe have sinned against thee. ^8sO the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as ^ta wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? ⁹Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man ^uthat cannot save? yet ^vthou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and ^†wwe are called by thy name; ^xleave us not. ¹⁰Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore ^ythe Lord doth not accept them; ^yzhe will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. ¹¹Then said the Lord unto me, ^aPray not for this people ^bfor their good. ^12cWhen they fast, I will not hear their cry; and ^dwhen they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but ^eI will consume them by ^fthe sword, and by ^fthe famine, and by ^fthe pestilence.

^13gThen said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you ^†assured ^hpeace in this place. ¹⁴Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets ⁱprophesy lies in my name: ^jI sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and ^kdivination, and a thing of nought, and ^lthe deceit of their heart. ¹⁵Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and ^jI sent them not, ^myet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; ⁿBy sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. ¹⁶And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and ^othey shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them. ¹⁷Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them;

^pLet mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and ^qlet them not cease:

For the virgin ^rdaughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very ^sgrievous blow.

¹⁸If I go forth into ^tthe field, then behold the slain with the sword!

And if I enter ^tinto the city, then behold them that are sick with famine!

Yea, ^uboth the prophet and the priest ^||vgo about ^vvinto a land that they know not.

^19wHast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion?

Why hast thou smitten us, and ^xthere is no healing for us?

^yWe looked for peace, and there is no good;

And ^yfor the time of healing, and behold trouble!

²⁰We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers:

^zFor we have sinned against thee.

²¹Do not abhor us, ^afor thy name’s sake,

Do not disgrace the throne of thy glory:

^bRemember, break not thy covenant with us.

^22cAre there any among ^dthe vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain?

Or can the heavens give ^eshowers?

^fArt not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee:

For thou hast made ^gall these things.

15Then said the Lord unto me, ^aThough ^bcMoses and ^bdSamuel ^astood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth. ²And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; ^eSuch as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity. ³And ^fI will appoint over them four ^†kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and ^gthe fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. ⁴And ^†I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of ^hManasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. ⁵For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or ⁱwho shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside ^†to ask how thou doest? ^6kThou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art ^lgone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; ^mI am weary with repenting. ⁷And I will ⁿfan them with ^oa fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them ^pof ^||children, I will destroy my people, since ^qthey return not from their ways. ⁸Their widows are increased to me ^rabove the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them ^||against the mother of the young men a spoiler ^sat noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and ^tterrors upon the city. ^9uShe that hath borne seven languisheth: ^vshe hath given up the ghost; ^wher sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord.

^10xWoe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither ^ylent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. ¹¹The Lord said, Verily ^zit shall be well with thy remnant; verily ^||aI will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. ¹²Shall iron break ^bthe northern iron and ^cthe steel? ^13dThy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil ^ewithout price, and that for all thy sins, ^deven in all thy borders. ¹⁴And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into ^fa land which thou knowest not: ^gfor a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.

^15hO Lord, thou knowest: ⁱremember me, and visit me, and ^ikrevenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: ^kkknow that ^lfor thy sake I have suffered rebuke. ¹⁶Thy words were found, and ^mI did eat them; and ⁿthy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for ^†I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. ^17oI sat not in ^pthe assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; ^ppI sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation. ¹⁸Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound ^qincurable, which ^rrefuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me ^sas a liar, and ^sas waters that ^†fail?

¹⁹Therefore thus saith the Lord, ^tIf thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt ^tustand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. ²⁰And I ^vwill make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but ^wthey shall not prevail against thee: ^xfor I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. ²¹And ^wI will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of ^ythe terrible.