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

²“Judah mourns,

and its gates languish.

They sit in black on the ground.

The cry of Jerusalem goes up .

³Their nobles send their little ones to the waters .

They come to the cisterns ,

and find no water .

They return with their vessels empty .

They are disappointed and confounded ,

and cover their heads .

⁴Because of the ground which is cracked ,

because no rain has been in the land,

the ploughmen are disappointed.

They cover their heads .

⁵Yes , the doe in the field also calves and forsakes her young ,

because there is no grass .

⁶The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights .

They pant for air like jackals .

Their eyes fail ,

because there is no vegetation .

⁷Though our iniquities testify against us ,

work for your name ’s sake , LORD ;

for our rebellions are many .

We have sinned against you .

⁸You hope of Israel ,

its Saviour in the time of trouble ,

why should you be as a foreigner in the land,

and as a wayfaring man who turns aside to stay for a night ?

⁹Why should you be like a scared man ,

as a mighty man who can ’t save ?

Yet you , LORD , are in the middle of us ,

and we are called by your name .

Don’t leave us .

¹⁰The LORD says to this people :

“Even so they have loved to wander .

They have not restrained their feet .

Therefore the LORD does not accept them .

Now he will remember their iniquity ,

and punish them for their sins .”

¹¹The LORD said to me , “Don’t pray for this people for their good .

¹²When they fast , I will not hear their cry ; and when they offer burnt offering and meal offering , I will not accept them ; but I will consume them by the sword , by famine , and by pestilence .”

¹³Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD ! Behold , the prophets tell them , ‘You will not see the sword , neither will you have famine ; but I will give you assured peace in this place .’”

¹⁴Then the LORD said to me , “The prophets prophesy lies in my name . I didn’t send them . I didn’t command them . I didn’t speak to them . They prophesy to you a lying vision , divination , and a thing of nothing , and the deceit of their own heart .

¹⁵Therefore the LORD says concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name , but I didn’t send them , yet they say, ‘Sword and famine will not be in this land.’ Those prophets will be consumed by sword and famine .

¹⁶The people to whom they prophesy will be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword . They will have no one to bury them —them , their wives, their sons , or their daughters , for I will pour their wickedness on them .

¹⁷“You shall say this word to them :

“‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day ,

and let them not cease ;

for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach ,

with a very grievous wound .

¹⁸If I go out into the field ,

then behold , the slain with the sword !

If I enter into the city ,

then behold , those who are sick with famine !

For both the prophet and the priest go about in the land ,

and have no knowledge .’”

¹⁹Have you utterly rejected Judah ?

Has your soul loathed Zion ?

Why have you struck us , and there is no healing for us ?

We looked for peace , but no good came ;

and for a time of healing , and behold , dismay!

²⁰We acknowledge , LORD , our wickedness ,

and the iniquity of our fathers;

for we have sinned against you .

²¹Do not abhor us , for your name ’s sake .

Do not disgrace the throne of your glory .

Remember , and don’t break your covenant with us .

²²Are there any amongst the vanities of the nations that can cause rain ?

Or can the sky give showers ?

Aren’t you he , the LORD our God ?

Therefore we will wait for you ;

for you have made all these things .