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14:1  The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
14:2  “Judah mourns And her gates languish; Her people sit on the ground in mourning clothes And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
14:3  “Their nobles have sent their servants for water; They have come to the cisterns and found no water. They have returned with empty vessels; They have been shamed and humiliated, And they cover their heads.
14:4  “The ground is cracked Because there has been no rain on the land; The farmers are distressed, And they have covered their heads [in shame].
14:5  “The doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young Because there is no grass.
14:6  “And the wild donkeys stand on the barren heights; They pant for air like jackals, Their eyesight fails Because there is no grass.
14:7  “O Lord, though our many sins testify against us” [prays Jeremiah], “Act now [for us and] for Your name’s sake [so that the faithless may witness Your faithfulness]! For our backslidings are countless; We have sinned against You.
14:8  “O Hope of Israel, Her Savior in time of distress and trouble, Why should You be like a sojourner (temporary resident) in the land Or like a traveler who turns aside and spreads his tent to linger [only] for a night?
14:9  “Why should You be [hesitant and inactive] like a man astounded and perplexed, Like a mighty man unable to save? Yet You, O Lord, are among us, And we are called by Your name; Do not leave us!”
14:10  Thus says the Lord to this people [Judah], “In the manner and to the degree [already pointed out] they have loved to wander; they have not restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; He will now remember [in detail] their wickedness and punish them for their sins.”
14:11  So the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good things for this people.
14:12  Though they fast, I will not hear their cry; and though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them [because they are done as obligations, and not as acts of loving obedience]. Instead I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
14:13  But I said, “Alas, Lord God! Behold, the [false] prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I [the Lord] will give you lasting peace in this place.’”
14:14  Then the Lord said to me, “The [counterfeit] prophets are prophesying lies in My Name. I have neither sent them nor authorized them nor spoken to them. They are prophesying to you made-up visions [pretending to call forth responses from handmade gods], a worthless divination and the deceit of their own mind.
14:15  Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the [false] prophets who are prophesying in My Name, although I did not send them—yet they keep saying, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’: by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end and be consumed.
14:16  And the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword; and they will have no one to bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters. For I will pour out their [own] wickedness on them [and not only on the imposters posing as prophets, for the people could not have been deceived without their own consent].
14:17  “Therefore [Jeremiah] you will say this word to them, ‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day, And let them never cease; For the virgin daughter of my people has been crushed with a great blow, With a very serious and severely infected wound.
14:18  ‘If I go out into the field, Then I gaze on those slaughtered with the sword! And if I enter the city, Then I gaze on [those tormented with] the diseases of famine! For both prophet and priest [who should have guided the people] Go about [bewildered and exiled] in a land (Babylon) that they do not know or understand.’”
14:19  Have You [O Lord] completely rejected Judah? Do You loathe Zion? Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace and completeness, but nothing good came; And [we hoped] for a time of healing, but behold, terror!
14:20  We know and acknowledge, O Lord, Our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against You.
14:21  Do not treat us with contempt and condemn us, for Your own name’s sake; Do not disgrace Your glorious throne; Remember [with consideration] and do not break Your [solemn] covenant with us.
14:22  Are there any among the idols of the nations who can send rain? Or can the heavens [of their own will] give showers? Is it not You, O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait and hope [confidently] in You, For You are the one who has made all these things [the heavens and the rain].