1The word of LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought. 2Judah mourns, and the gates thereof languish. They sit in black upon the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem has gone up. 3And their ranking men send their little ones to the waters. They come to the cisterns, and find no water. They return with their vessels empty. They are put to shame and confounded, and cover their heads, 4because of the ground which is cracked. Because no rain has been in the land, the plowmen are put to shame; they cover their heads. 5Yea, the hind also in the field calves, and forsakes [it] because there is no grass. 6And the wild donkeys stand on the bare heights. They pant for air like jackals. Their eyes fail because there is no herbage. 7Though our iniquities testify against us, work thou for thy name's sake, O LORD. For our backslidings are many. We have sinned against thee. 8O thou hope of Israel, the Savior of it in the time of trouble, why should thou be as a sojourner in the land, and as a wayfaring man who turns aside to tarry for a night? 9Why should thou be as a man frightened, as a mighty man who cannot save? Yet thou, O LORD, are in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name. Do not leave us. 10Thus says LORD to this people: Even so they have loved to wander. They have not restrained their feet. Therefore LORD does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. 11And LORD said to me, Pray not for this people for good. 12When they fast, I will not hear their cry. And when they offer burnt-offering and meal-offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. 13Then I said, Ah, lord LORD! Behold, the prophets say to them, Ye shall not see the sword, nor shall ye have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place. 14Then 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 lying vision, and divination, and a thing of naught, and the deceit of the 15Therefore thus says LORD 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--them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters. For I will pour 17And thou shall say this word to them: Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease. For the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous wound. 18If I go forth into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! And if I enter into the city, then, behold, those who are sick with famine! For both the prophet and the priest go about in the land, and have no knowledge. 19Have thou utterly rejected Judah? Has thy soul loathed Zion? Why have thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came, and for a time of healing, and, behold, dismay! 20We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against thee. 21Do not abhor [us]. For thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory. Remember, do not break thy covenant with us. 22Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are not thou he, O LORD our God? Therefore we will wait for thee, for thou have made all these things.