Jeremiah 14:1-14
New American Standard Bible
2'Judah mourns And her gates languish; Her people sit on the ground in mourning garments, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended.
3Their nobles have sent their servants for water; They have come to the cisterns and found no water. They have returned with their containers empty; They have been put to shame and humiliated, And they cover their heads,
4Because the ground is cracked, For there has been no rain on the land. The farmers have been put to shame, They have covered their heads.
5For even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon 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 wrongdoings testify against us, Lord, act for the sake of Your name! Our apostasies have indeed been many, We have sinned against You.
8Hope of Israel, Its Savior in time of distress, Why are You like a stranger in the land, Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?
10This is what the Lord says to this people: 'So much they have loved to wander; they have not restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; now He will remember their wrongdoing and call their sins to account.'
11So the Lord said to me, 'Do not pray for a good outcome on behalf of this people.
12When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather, I am going to put an end to them by the sword, famine, and plague.'
13But I said, 'Oh, Lord God! Behold, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see a sword, nor will you have famine; on the contrary, I will give you lasting peace in this place.’?'
14Then the Lord said to me, 'The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them, nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility, and the deception of their own minds.
King James Version
Chapter 14
1The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. 2Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. 3And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. 4Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. 5Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. 6And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass. 7O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee. 8O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night? 9Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.
10Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
11Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
12When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
13Then 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 peace in this place.
14Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
Christian Standard Bible
2Judah mourns; her city gates languish. Her people are on the ground in mourning; Jerusalem's cry rises up.
3Their nobles send their servants for water. They go to the cisterns; they find no water; their containers return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.
4The ground is cracked since no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
5Even the doe in the field gives birth and abandons her fawn since there is no grass.
6Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights panting for air like jackals. Their eyes fail because there are no green plants.
7Though our iniquities testify against us, Lord, act for your name's sake. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against you.
8Hope of Israel, its Savior in time of distress, why are you like a resident alien in the land, like a traveler stopping only for the night?
9Why are you like a helpless man, like a warrior unable to save? Yet you are among us, Lord, and we bear your name. Don't leave us!
New Living Translation
Chapter 14
1This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord, explaining why he was holding back the rain:
2'Judah wilts; commerce at the city gates grinds to a halt. All the people sit on the ground in mourning, and a great cry rises from Jerusalem.
3The nobles send servants to get water, but all the wells are dry. The servants return with empty pitchers, confused and desperate, covering their heads in grief.
4The ground is parched and cracked for lack of rain. The farmers are deeply troubled; they, too, cover their heads.
5Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn because there is no grass in the field.
6The wild donkeys stand on the bare hills panting like thirsty jackals. They strain their eyes looking for grass, but there is none to be found.'
7The people say, 'Our wickedness has caught up with us, Lord, but help us for the sake of your own reputation. We have turned away from you and sinned against you again and again.
8O Hope of Israel, our Savior in times of trouble, why are you like a stranger to us? Why are you like a traveler passing through the land, stopping only for the night?
9Are you also confused? Is our champion helpless to save us? You are right here among us, Lord. We are known as your people. Please don’t abandon us now!'
English Standard Version
2“Judah mourns, and her gates languish; her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
3Her nobles send their servants for water; they come to the cisterns; they find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are ashamed and confounded and cover their heads.
4Because of the ground that is dismayed, since there is no rain on the land, the farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
5Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn 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.
7“Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O LORD, for your name’s sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you.
8O you hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
9Why should you be like a man confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot save? Yet you, O LORD, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not leave us.”
10Thus says the LORD concerning this people: “They have loved to wander thus; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the LORD does not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.”
11The LORD said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people.
12Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain 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 say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’”
14And the LORD said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.
New International Version
2Judah mourns, her cities languish; they 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. They return with their jars unfilled; dismayed and despairing, they cover their heads.
4The ground is cracked because there is no rain in the land; the farmers are dismayed and cover their heads.
5Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass.
6Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights and pant like jackals; their eyes fail for lack of food.'
7Although our sins testify against us, do something, LORD, for the sake of your name. For we have often rebelled; we have sinned against you.
8You who are the hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress, why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only a night?
9Why are you like a man taken by surprise, like a warrior powerless to save? You are among us, LORD, and we bear your name; do not forsake us!
New King James Version
2“Judah mourns, And her gates languish; They mourn for the land, And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
3Their nobles have sent their lads for water; They went to the cisterns and found no water. They returned with their vessels empty; They were ashamed and confounded And covered their heads.
4Because the ground is parched, For there was no rain in the land, The plowmen were ashamed; They covered their heads.
5Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field, But left because there was no grass.
6And the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights; They sniffed at the wind like jackals; Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”
7O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, Do it for Your name’s sake; For our backslidings are many, We have sinned against You.
8 O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble, Why should You be like a stranger in the land, And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
9Why should You be like a man astonished, Like a mighty one who cannot save? Yet You, O Lord, are in our midst, And we are called by Your name; Do not leave us!