Sword, Famine, and Pestilence

14 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts.

“Judah mourns,
And (A)her gates languish;
They (B)mourn for the land,
And (C)the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
Their nobles have sent their lads for water;
They went to the cisterns and found no water.
They returned with their vessels empty;
They were (D)ashamed and confounded
(E)And covered their heads.
Because the ground is parched,
For there was (F)no rain in the land,
The plowmen were ashamed;
They covered their heads.
Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field,
But [a]left because there was no grass.
And (G)the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights;
They sniffed at the wind like jackals;
Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”

O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us,
Do it (H)for Your name’s sake;
For our backslidings are many,
We have sinned against You.
(I)O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble,
Why should You be like a stranger in the land,
And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
Why should You be like a man astonished,
Like a mighty one (J)who cannot save?
Yet You, O Lord, (K)are in our midst,
And we are called by Your name;
Do not leave us!

10 Thus says the Lord to this people:

(L)“Thus they have loved to wander;
They have not restrained their feet.
Therefore the Lord does not accept them;
(M)He will remember their iniquity now,
And punish their sins.”

11 Then the Lord said to me, (N)“Do not pray for this people, for their good. 12 (O)When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and (P)when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But (Q)I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.”

13 (R)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 [b]assured (S)peace in this place.’ ”

14 And the Lord said to me, (T)“The prophets prophesy lies in My name. (U)I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, [c]divination, a worthless thing, and the (V)deceit of their heart. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, (W)and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in 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 because of the famine and the sword; (X)they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’

17 “Therefore you shall say this word to them:

(Y)‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
(Z)For the virgin daughter of my people
Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.
18 If I go out to (AA)the field,
Then behold, those slain with the sword!
And if I enter the city,
Then behold, those sick from famine!
Yes, both prophet and (AB)priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”

The People Plead for Mercy

19 (AC)Have You utterly rejected Judah?
Has Your soul loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that (AD)there is no healing for us?
(AE)We looked for peace, but there was no good;
And for the time of healing, and there was trouble.
20 We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness
And the iniquity of our (AF)fathers,
For (AG)we have sinned against You.
21 Do not abhor us, for Your name’s sake;
Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory.
(AH)Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.
22 (AI)Are there any among (AJ)the idols of the nations that can cause (AK)rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
(AL)Are You not He, O Lord our God?
Therefore we will wait for You,
Since You have made all these.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 14:5 abandoned her young
  2. Jeremiah 14:13 true
  3. Jeremiah 14:14 Telling the future by signs and omens

The Lord Will Not Relent

15 Then the Lord said to me, (A)Even if (B)Moses and (C)Samuel stood before Me, My [a]mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord:

(D)“Such as are for death, to death;
And such as are for the sword, to the sword;
And such as are for the famine, to the famine;
And such as are for the (E)captivity, to the captivity.” ’

“And I will (F)appoint over them four forms of destruction,” says the Lord: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, (G)the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. I will hand them over to (H)trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of (I)Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

“For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem?
Or who will bemoan you?
Or who will turn aside to ask how you are doing?
(J)You have forsaken Me,” says the Lord,
“You have (K)gone backward.
Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
(L)I am [b]weary of relenting!
And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land;
I will (M)bereave them of children;
I will destroy My people,
Since they (N)do not return from their ways.
Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them,
Against the mother of the young men,
A plunderer at noonday;
I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them (O)suddenly.

“She(P) languishes who has borne seven;
She has breathed her last;
(Q)Her sun has gone down
While it was yet day;
She has been ashamed and confounded.
And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword
Before their enemies,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah’s Dejection

10 (R)Woe is me, my mother,
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole [c]earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me.

11 The Lord said:

“Surely it will be well with your remnant;
Surely I will cause (S)the enemy to intercede with you
In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.
12 Can anyone break iron,
The northern iron and the bronze?
13 Your wealth and your treasures
I will give as (T)plunder without price,
Because of all your sins,
Throughout your territories.
14 And I will [d]make you cross over with your enemies
(U)Into a land which you do not know;
For a (V)fire is kindled in My anger,
Which shall burn upon you.”

15 O Lord, (W)You know;
Remember me and [e]visit me,
And (X)take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.
Know that (Y)for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Your words were found, and I (Z)ate them,
And (AA)Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.
17 (AB)I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
For You have filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my (AC)pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed?
Will You surely be to me (AD)like an unreliable stream,
As waters that [f]fail?

The Lord Reassures Jeremiah

19 Therefore thus says the Lord:

(AE)“If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall (AF)stand before Me;
If you (AG)take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze (AH)wall;
And they will fight against you,
But (AI)they shall not prevail against you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” says the Lord.
21 “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 15:1 Lit. soul was not toward
  2. Jeremiah 15:6 tired
  3. Jeremiah 15:10 Or land
  4. Jeremiah 15:14 So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Syr., Tg. cause you to serve (cf. 17:4)
  5. Jeremiah 15:15 attend to
  6. Jeremiah 15:18 Or cannot be trusted

Bible Gateway Recommends