Study Desk

That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah regarding the ^(C1)drought:

"Judah mourns And ^(C1)her gates languish; Her people sit on the ground ^(C2)in mourning garments, And the ^(C3)cry of Jerusalem has ascended.

-"Their nobles have ^(C1)sent their ^(F1)servants for water; They have come to the ^(C2)cisterns and found no water. They have returned with their containers empty; They have been ^(C3)put to shame and humiliated, And they ^(C4)cover their heads,

Because the ^(C1)ground is ^(F1)cracked, For there has been ^(C2)no rain on the land. The ^(C3)farmers have been put to shame, They have covered their heads.

-"For even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young, Because there is ^(C1)no grass.

-"The ^(C1)wild donkeys stand on the bare heights; They pant for air like jackals, Their eyes fail Because there is ^(C2)no vegetation.

-"Though our ^(C1)wrongdoings testify against us, LORD, act ^(C2)for the sake of Your name! Our ^(C3)apostasies have indeed been many, We have ^(C4)sinned against You.

-"^(C1)Hope of Israel, Its ^(C2)Savior in ^(C3)time of distress, Why are You like a stranger in the land, Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?

-"Why are You like a confused person, Like a warrior who ^(C1)cannot save? Yet ^(C2)You are in our midst, LORD, And we are ^(C3)called by Your name; Do not leave us!"

This is what the LORD says to this people: "So much they have ^(C1)loved to wander; they have not ^(C2)restrained their feet. Therefore the LORD does ^(C3)not accept them; now He will ^(C4)remember their wrongdoing and call their sins to account."

So the LORD said to me, "^(C1)Do not pray for a good outcome on behalf of this people.

"When they fast, I am ^(C1)not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer ^(C2)burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather, I am going to ^(C3)put an end to them by the ^(C4)sword, famine, and plague."

But I said, "Oh, Lord ^(F1)GOD! Behold, the prophets are telling them, 'You ^(C1)will not see a sword, nor will you have famine; on the contrary, I will give you lasting ^(C2)peace in this place.'"

Then the LORD said to me, "The ^(C1)prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. ^(C2)I have neither sent them nor commanded them, nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a ^(C3)false vision, divination, futility, and the deception of their own ^(F1)minds.

"Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them—yet they keep saying: 'There will be no sword or famine in this land'—^(C1)by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end!

"And the people to whom they are prophesying will be ^(C1)thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to ^(C2)bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters. For I will ^(C3)pour out their own wickedness upon them.

-"You will say this word to them, '^(C1)Let my eyes stream down tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin ^(C2)daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow, With a sorely ^(C3)infected wound.

-'If I ^(C1)go out to the country, There are those killed by the sword! Or if I enter the city, There are diseases from famine! For ^(C2)both prophet and priest Have wandered around in the land that they do not know.'"

Have You completely ^(C1)rejected Judah? Or have ^(F1)You loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we ^(C2)are beyond healing? We ^(C3)waited for peace, but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!

We ^(C1)know our wickedness, LORD, The wrongdoing of our fathers, for ^(C2)we have sinned against You.

Do not despise us, ^(C1)for the sake of Your own name; Do not disgrace the ^(C2)throne of Your glory. Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us.

Are there any among the ^(F1)(C1)idols of the nations who ^(C2)give rain? Or can the heavens grant showers? Is it not You, LORD our God? Therefore we ^(C3)wait for You, For You are the one who has done all these things.