Jeremia 14,12 | New International Reader’s Version

War and hunger

1 A message from the LORD came to Jeremiah. He told Jeremiah there wouldn’t be any rain in the land. The LORD said, 2 ‘Judah is filled with sadness. Its cities are wasting away. The people weep for the land. Crying is heard in Jerusalem. 3 The nobles send their servants to get water. They go to the wells. But they do not find any water. They return with empty jars. They are terrified. They do not have any hope. They cover their heads. 4 The ground is dry and cracked. There isn’t any rain in the land. The farmers are terrified. They cover their heads. 5 Even the female deer in the fields desert their newborn fawns. There isn’t any grass to eat. 6 Wild donkeys stand on the bare hilltops. They long for water as wild dogs do. Their eyesight fails because they do not have any food to eat.’ 7 LORD, our sins are a witness against us. But do something for the honour of your name. We have often turned away from you. We’ve sinned against you. 8 You are Israel’s only hope. You save us when we’re in trouble. Why are you like a stranger to us? Why are you like a traveller who stays for only one night? 9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise? Why are you like a soldier who can’t save anyone? LORD, you are among us. And we are your people. Please don’t desert us! 10 The LORD gave Jeremiah a message about these people. The LORD said, ‘They really love to wander away from me. Their feet go down the wrong path. I do not accept these people. I will remember the evil things they have done. I will punish them for their sins.’ 11 The LORD continued, ‘Do not pray that things will go well with them. 12 Even if they go without food, I will not listen to their cry for help. They might sacrifice burnt offerings and grain offerings. But I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with war, hunger and plague.’ 13 But I said, ‘LORD and King, the prophets keep telling them something else. They say, “You won’t have to suffer from war or hunger. Instead, the LORD will give you peace and rest in this place.” ’ 14 Then the LORD said to me, ‘The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them. I have not even spoken to them. Everything they tell you about their visions or secret knowledge is a lie. They pretend to bring you messages from other gods. They try to get you to believe their own mistaken ideas. 15 So here is what I am saying about the prophets who are prophesying in my name. I did not send them. But they are saying, “No war or hunger will come to this land.” Those same prophets will die because of war and hunger. 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem. They will die because of hunger and war. No one will bury them. No one will bury their wives and children. I will pour out trouble on them. That is exactly what they should get. 17 ‘Jeremiah, give them this message. Tell them, ‘ “Let tears flow from my eyes. Let them pour out night and day. Never let them stop. The people of my own nation have suffered a terrible wound. They have been crushed. 18 Suppose I go into the country. Then I see people who have been killed by swords. Or suppose I go into the city. Then I see people who have died of hunger. Prophet and priest alike have gone to a land they hadn’t known about before.” ’ 19 LORD, have you completely turned your back on Judah? Do you hate the city of Zion? Why have you made us suffer? We can’t be healed. We hoped peace would come. But nothing good has happened to us. We hoped we would finally be healed. But all we got was terror. 20 LORD, we admit we’ve done evil things. We also admit that our people of long ago were guilty. It’s true that we’ve sinned against you. 21 For the honour of your name, don’t turn your back on us. Don’t bring shame on your glorious throne in the temple. Remember the covenant you made with us. Please don’t break it. 22 Do any of the worthless gods of the nations bring rain? Do the skies send down showers all by themselves? No. LORD our God, you send the rain. So we put our hope in you. You are the one who does all these things.

English Standard Version

Famine, Sword, and Pestilence

1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought: 2 “Judah mourns, and her gates languish; her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up. 3 Her 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. 4 Because of the ground that is dismayed, since there is no rain on the land, the farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads. 5 Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn because there is no grass. 6 The 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. 8 O 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? 9 Why 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.” 10 Thus 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.” 11 The Lord said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though 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.”

Lying Prophets

13 Then 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.’” 14 And 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. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them. 17 “You shall say to them this word: ‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound, with a very grievous blow. 18 If I go out into the field, behold, those pierced by the sword! And if I enter the city, behold, the diseases of famine! For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land and have no knowledge.’” 19 Have you utterly rejected Judah? Does your soul loathe Zion? Why have you struck us down so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of healing, but behold, terror. 20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord, and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against you. 21 Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake; do not dishonor your glorious throne; remember and do not break your covenant with us. 22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are you not he, O Lord our God? We set our hope on you, for you do all these things.

Jeremia 14,12 | New International Reader’s Version English Standard Version

War and hunger

Famine, Sword, and Pestilence

Lying Prophets