Jeremiah 14

¹This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

²“Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.

³The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.

⁴The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.

⁵Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass.

⁶Wild donkeys stand on barren heights; they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail for lack of pasture.”

⁷Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD, act for the sake of Your name. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.

⁸O Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are You like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays but a night?

⁹Why are You like a man taken by surprise, like a warrior powerless to save? Yet You are among us, O LORD, and we are called by Your name. Do not forsake us!

¹⁰This is what the LORD says about this people: “Truly they love to wander; they have not restrained their feet. So the LORD does not accept them; He will now remember their iniquity and punish them for their sins.”

¹¹Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.

¹²Although they may fast, I will not listen to their cry; although they may offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will finish them off by sword and famine and plague.”