Jeremiah 14:1-10 - The Severe Drought

¹ Jehovah spoke his word about the drought to Jeremiah:

² Judah mourns and its gates collapse. The people of Judah are filled with bereavement as they sit on the ground. Their cry goes up from Jerusalem. ³ Important people send their assistants out for water. They do not find any water at the cisterns. They return with their containers empty. They cover their heads, because they are ashamed and dishonored. ⁴ There is no rain in the land and the ground is cracked. The farmers are disappointed. They cover their heads. ⁵ Even deer in the fields give birth and abandon their young because there is no grass. ⁶ Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills. They sniff the wind like jackals. Their eyesight fails because they have no green plants. ⁷ Do something, Jehovah, for the sake of your name, even though our iniquities testify against us. We have been unfaithful (like apostates) and have sinned against you. ⁸ You are Israel's hope, its savior in times of trouble. Why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stays only one night? ⁹ Why are you like someone taken by surprise, like a mighty man who cannot help? You, O Jehovah, are among us. We are called by your name. Do not leave us!

¹⁰ This is what Jehovah says about these people: They love to wander. They do not keep their feet where they belong. Therefore Jehovah is not happy with them. He will remember their crimes and punish their sins.