1
This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2
"Judah mourns,
her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3
The nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns
but find no water.
They return with their jars unfilled;
dismayed and despairing,
they cover their heads.
4
The ground is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;
the farmers are dismayed
and cover their heads.
5
Even the doe in the field
deserts her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
6
Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights
and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
for lack of food."
7
Although our sins testify against us,
do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.
For we have often rebelled;
we have sinned against you.
8
You who are the hope of Israel,
its Savior in times of distress,
why are you like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only a night?
9
Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a warrior powerless to save?
You are among us, Lord,
and we bear your name;
do not forsake us!
10
This is what the Lord says about this people:
"They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them;
he will now remember their wickedness
and punish them for their sins."
11 Then the Lord said to me, "Do not pray for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague."