Jeremiah 14–15

A Time Without Rain

14These are the words that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the time when there was no rain:

²“The nation of Judah cries as if someone has died,

and her cities are very sad.

They are distressed over the land.

A cry goes up to God from Jerusalem.

³The important men send their servants to get water.

They go to the wells,

but they find no water.

So they return with empty jars.

They are ashamed and embarrassed

and cover their heads in shame.

⁴The ground is dry and cracked open,

because no rain falls on the land.

The farmers are upset and sad,

so they cover their heads in shame.

⁵Even the mother deer in the field

leaves her newborn fawn to die,

because there is no grass.

⁶Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills

and sniff the wind like wild dogs.

But their eyes go blind,

because there is no food.”

⁷We know that we suffer because of our sins.

Lord, do something to help us for the good of your name.

We have left you many times;

we have sinned against you.

⁸God, the Hope of Israel,

you have saved Israel in times of trouble.

Why are you like a stranger in the land,

or like a traveler who only stays one night?

⁹Why are you like someone who has been attacked by surprise,

like a warrior who is not able to save anyone?

But you are among us, Lord,

and we are called by your name

so don’t leave us without help!

¹⁰This is what the Lord says about the people of Judah:

“They really love to wander from me;

they don’t stop themselves from leaving me.

So now the Lord will not accept them.

He will now remember the evil they do

and will punish them for their sins.”

¹¹Then the Lord said, “Don’t pray for good things to happen to the people of Judah. ¹²Even if they fast, I will not listen to their prayers. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy the people of Judah with war, hunger, and terrible diseases.”

¹³But I said, “Oh, Lord God, the prophets keep telling the people, ‘You will not suffer from an enemy’s sword or from hunger. I, the Lord, will give you peace in this land.’ ”

¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They have been prophesying false visions, idolatries, worthless magic, and their own wishful thinking. ¹⁵So this is what I say about the prophets who are prophesying in my name. I did not send them. They say, ‘No enemy will attack this country with swords. There will never be hunger in this land.’ So those prophets will die from hunger and from an enemy’s sword. ¹⁶And the people to whom the prophets speak will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem. There they will die from hunger and from an enemy’s sword. And no one will be there to bury them, or their wives, or their sons, or their daughters. I will punish them.

¹⁷“Jeremiah, speak this message to the people of Judah:

‘Let my eyes be filled with tears

night and day, without stopping.

My people have received a terrible blow;

they have been hurt badly.

¹⁸If I go into the country,

I see people killed by swords.

If I go into the city,

I see much sickness, because the people have no food.

Both the priests and the prophets

have been taken to a foreign land.’ ”

¹⁹Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?

Do you hate Jerusalem?

Why have you hurt us so badly

that we cannot be made well again?

We hoped for peace,

but nothing good has come.

We looked for a time of healing,

but only terror came.

²⁰Lord, we admit that we are wicked

and that our ancestors did evil things.

We have sinned against you.

²¹For your sake, do not hate us.

Do not take away the honor from your glorious throne.

Remember your agreement with us,

and do not break it.

²²Do foreign idols have the power to bring rain?

Does the sky itself have the power to send down showers?

No, it is you, Lord our God.

You are our only hope,

because you are the one who made all these things.

15Then the Lord said to me: “I would not feel sorry for the people of Judah even if Moses and Samuel prayed for them. Send them away from me! Tell them to go! ²When they ask you, ‘Where will we go?’ tell them: ‘This is what the Lord says:

Those who are meant to die

will die.

Those who are meant to die in war

will die in war.

Those who are meant to die from hunger

will die from hunger.

Those who are meant to be taken captive

will be taken captive.’

³“I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” says the Lord. “I will send war to kill, dogs to drag the bodies away, and the birds of the air and wild animals to eat and destroy the bodies. ⁴I will make the people of Judah hated by everyone on earth because of what Manasseh did in Jerusalem. (Manasseh son of Hezekiah was king of the nation of Judah.)

⁵“Who will feel sorry for you, Jerusalem?

Who will be sad and cry for you?

Who will go out of his way to ask how you are?

⁶Jerusalem, you have left me,” says the Lord.

“You keep going farther and farther away,

so I have taken hold of you and destroyed you.

I was tired of holding back my anger.

⁷I have separated the people of Judah with my pitchfork

and scattered them at the city gates of the land.

My people haven’t changed their ways.

So I have destroyed them

and taken away their children.

⁸There are more widows than grains of sand in the sea.

I brought a destroyer at noontime

against the mothers of the young men of Judah.

I suddenly brought pain and fear

on the people of Judah.

⁹When the enemy attacked, a woman with seven sons felt faint because they would all die.

She became weak and unable to breathe.

Her bright day became dark from sadness.

She felt shame and disgrace.

And everyone else left alive in Judah

I will hand over to the enemies, too!” says the Lord.

Jeremiah’s Second Complaint

¹⁰Mother, I am sorry that you gave birth to me

since I must accuse and criticize the whole land.

I have not loaned or borrowed anything,

but everyone curses me.

¹¹The Lord said,

“I have saved you for a good reason.

I have made your enemies beg you

in times of disaster and trouble.

¹²No one can smash a piece of iron or bronze

that comes from the north.

¹³Your wealth and treasures

I will give to others free of charge,

because the people of Judah have sinned

throughout the country.

¹⁴I will make you slaves to your enemies

in a land you have never known.

My anger is like a hot fire,

and it will burn against you.”

¹⁵Lord, you understand.

Remember me and take care of me.

Punish for me those who are hurting me.

Don’t destroy me while you remain patient with them.

Think about the shame I suffer for you.

¹⁶Your words came to me, and I listened carefully to them.

Your words made me very happy,

because I am called by your name,

Lord God All-Powerful.

¹⁷I never sat with the crowd

as they laughed and had fun.

I sat by myself, because you were there,

and you filled me with anger at the evil around me.

¹⁸I don’t understand why my pain has no end.

I don’t understand why my injury is not cured or healed.

Will you be like a brook that goes dry?

Will you be like a spring that stops flowing?

¹⁹So this is what the Lord says:

“If you change your heart and return to me, I will take you back.

Then you may serve me.

And if you speak things that have worth,

not useless words,

then you may speak for me.

Let the people of Judah turn to you,

but you must not change and be like them.

²⁰I will make you as strong as a wall to this people,

as strong as a wall of bronze.

They will fight against you,

but they will not defeat you,

because I am with you.

I will rescue you and save you,” says the Lord.

²¹“I will save you from these wicked people

and rescue you from these cruel people.”