1The Word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the matter of droughts.

2"Judah mourns, and its gates languish. Her people are mourning on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.

3And their nobles have sent their little ones for the water; they came 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 was cracked, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed; they covered their heads.

5Yea, the doe also calved in the field and forsook it because there was no grass.

6And the wild donkeys stood in the high places; they panted for air like jackals; their eyes failed because there was no grass."

7O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, act for Your name's sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against You.

8O the Hope of Israel, its Savior in time of trouble, why should You be as a stranger in the land, and as a traveler turning in to lodge for a night?

9Why should You be as a man confused, as one mighty, but who cannot save? Yet You, O LORD, are in our midst, and we are called by Your name. Do not leave us!

10Thus says the LORD to this people; "Even so they have loved to wander; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the LORD does not accept them. He will now remember their iniquity and visit their sins." 11Then the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for this people for good. 12When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and a grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the plague."

13Then I said, "Ah, O Lord GOD! Behold, the prophets are saying to them, 'You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine; but I will give you true peace in this place. ' " 14And the LORD said to me, "The prophets prophesy lies in My name; I did not send them, nor have I commanded them, nor did I speak to them. They prophesy to you a false vision and a worthless divination, and a thing of no value, and the deceit of their heart. 15Therefore the LORD says this concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, and I did not send them, yet they say, 'Sword and famine shall not be in this land'--'By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, neither them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters. For I will pour their own wickedness upon them. '

17And you shall speak this word to them, 'Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and do not let them cease. For the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great wound, with a very grievous blow.

18If I go out into the field, then I see those killed with the sword! And if I enter into the city, then, behold, the sicknesses of famine! Yes, both the prophet and the priest have gone up into a land that they do not know. ' "

19Have You utterly rejected Judah? Or has Your soul hated Zion? Why have You stricken us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for the time of healing, and behold, trouble!

20We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against You.

21Do not abhor us for Your name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of Your glory; remember, do not break Your covenant with us.

22Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles who can make rain fall? Or can the heavens give showers? Is it not You, O LORD our God? Then we will wait for You; for You do all these things.