Jeremiah 14

Famine, Sword, and Pestilence

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

2 "Judah mourns,
And a her gates languish;
They b mourn for the land,
And c the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
3 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.
4 Because the ground is parched,
For there was f no rain in the land,
The plowmen were ashamed;
They covered their heads.
5 Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field,
But 1 left because there was no grass.
6 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."

7 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.
8 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?
9 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."

Lying Prophets

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 2 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, 3 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 a 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 b priest go about in a land they do not know.' "

19 c Have You utterly rejected Judah?
Has Your soul loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that d there is no healing for us?
e 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 f fathers,
For g we have sinned against You.
21 Do not abhor us, for Your name's sake;
Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory.
h Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.
22 i Are there any among j the idols of the nations that can cause k rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
l Are You not He, O LORD our God?
Therefore we will wait for You,
Since You have made all these.

  1. Cross References
    2 Kings 25:3
    By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine had become so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
    Isaiah 3:26
    Her gates shall lament and mourn, And she being desolate shall sit on the ground.
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 8:21
    For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt. I am mourning; Astonishment has taken hold of me.
  3. Cross References
    1 Samuel 5:12
    And the men who did not die were stricken with the tumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
    Jeremiah 11:11
    Therefore thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them.
    Jeremiah 46:12
    The nations have heard of your shame, And your cry has filled the land; For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty; They both have fallen together.
    Zechariah 7:13
    Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen," says the LORD of hosts.
  4. Cross References
    Job 6:20
    They are disappointed because they were confident; They come there and are confused.
    Psalms 40:14
    Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who seek to destroy my life; Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor Who wish me evil.
  5. Cross References
    2 Samuel 15:30
    So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered and went barefoot. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went up.
  6. Cross References
    Jeremiah 3:3
    Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no latter rain. You have had a harlot's forehead; You refuse to be ashamed.
    Ezekiel 22:24
    "Son of man, say to her: 'You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.'
  7. Cross References
    Job 39:5
    Who set the wild donkey free? Who loosed the bonds of the onager.
    Job 39:6
    Whose home I have made the wilderness, And the barren land his dwelling?
    Jeremiah 2:24
    A wild donkey used to the wilderness, That sniffs at the wind in her desire; In her time of mating, who can turn her away? All those who seek her will not weary themselves; In her month they will find her.
  8. Cross References
    Psalms 25:11
    For Your name's sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
    Jeremiah 14:21
    Do not abhor us, for Your name's sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 17:13
    O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. "Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the LORD, The fountain of living waters.
  10. Cross References
    Isaiah 59:1
    Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.
  11. Cross References
    Exodus 29:45
    I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God.
    Leviticus 26:11
    I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you.
    Psalms 46:5
    God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
    Jeremiah 8:19
    Listen! The voice, The cry of the daughter of my people From a far country: " Is not the LORD in Zion? Is not her King in her?" "Why have they provoked Me to anger With their carved images - With foreign idols?
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 2:23 - 25
    How can you say, 'I am not polluted, I have not gone after the Baals'? See your way in the valley; Know what you have done: You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways.
  13. Cross References
    Jeremiah 44:21 - 23
    The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and did it not come into His mind?
    Hosea 8:13
    For the sacrifices of My offerings they sacrifice flesh and eat it, But the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins. They shall return to Egypt.
  14. Cross References
    Exodus 32:10
    "Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation."
    Jeremiah 7:16
    Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you.
    Jeremiah 11:14
    So do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble.
  15. Cross References
    Proverbs 1:28
    Then they will call on me, but I will not answe...
    Isaiah 1:15
    When you spread out your hands, I will hide My ...
    Isaiah 58:3 - 6
    Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and You have no...
    Ezekiel 8:18
    "Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will...
    Micah 3:4
    Then they will cry to the LORD, But He will not...
    Zechariah 7:13
    Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaim...
  16. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:20
    For what purpose to Me Comes frankincense from Sheba, And sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.
  17. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:16
    "I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them."
  18. Cross References
    Jeremiah 4:10
    Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, Saying, 'You shall have peace,' Whereas the sword reaches to the heart.
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 8:11
    For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly, Saying, 'Peace, peace!' When there is no peace.
    Jeremiah 23:17
    They continually say to those who despise Me, 'The LORD has said, "You shall have peace" '; And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, 'No evil shall come upon you.'
  20. Cross References
    Jeremiah 27:10
    For they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out, and you will perish.
  21. Cross References
    Jeremiah 29:8
    For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are in your midst deceive you, nor listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.
    Jeremiah 29:9
    For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, says the LORD.
  22. Cross References
    Jeremiah 23:16
    Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the LORD.
    Ezekiel 12:24
    For no more shall there be any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel.
  23. Cross References
    Jeremiah 5:12
    They have lied about the LORD, And said, " It is not He. Neither will evil come upon us, Nor shall we see sword or famine.
    Ezekiel 14:10
    And they shall bear their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired.
  24. Cross References
    Psalms 79:2
    The dead bodies of Your servants They have given as food for the birds of the heavens, The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
    Psalms 79:3
    Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem, And there was no one to bury them.
    Jeremiah 7:32
    Therefore behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "when it will no more be called Tophet, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Tophet until there is no room.
    Jeremiah 15:2
    "And it shall be, if they say to you, 'Where should we go?' then you shall tell them, 'Thus says the LORD: "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 captivity, to the captivity."'
    Jeremiah 15:3
    And I will appoint over them four forms of destruction, " says the LORD: "the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.
  25. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:1
    Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!
    Jeremiah 13:17
    But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the LORD's flock has been taken captive.
    Lamentations 1:16
    "For these things I weep; My eye, my eye overflows with water; Because the comforter, who should restore my life, Is far from me. My children are desolate Because the enemy prevailed."
  26. Cross References
    Isaiah 37:22
    This is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning him: "The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back!
    Jeremiah 8:21
    For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt. I am mourning; Astonishment has taken hold of me.
    Lamentations 1:15
    The Lord has trampled underfoot all my mighty men in my midst; He has called an assembly against me To crush my young men; The Lord trampled as in a winepress The virgin daughter of Judah.
    Lamentations 2:13
    How shall I console you? To what shall I liken you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I compare with you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is spread wide as the sea; Who can heal you?
  27. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:25
    Do not go out into the field, Nor walk by the way. Because of the sword of the enemy, Fear is on every side.
    Lamentations 1:20
    See, O LORD, that I am in distress; My soul is troubled; My heart is overturned within me, For I have been very rebellious. Outside the sword bereaves, At home it is like death.
    Ezekiel 7:15
    The sword is outside, And the pestilence and famine within. Whoever is in the field Will die by the sword; And whoever is in the city, Famine and pestilence will devour him.
  28. Cross References
    Jeremiah 23:11
    For both prophet and priest are profane; Yes, in My house I have found their wickedness," says the LORD.
  29. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:30
    People will call them rejected silver, Because the LORD has rejected them.
    Jeremiah 7:29
    'Cut off your hair and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the desolate heights; for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.'
    Jeremiah 12:7
    I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies.
    Lamentations 5:22
    Unless You have utterly rejected us, And are very angry with us!
  30. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:18
    Why is my pain perpetual And my wound incurable, Which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, As waters that fail?
  31. Cross References
    Job 30:26
    But when I looked for good, evil came to me; And when I waited for light, then came darkness.
    Jeremiah 8:15
    We looked for peace, but no good came; And for a time of health, and there was trouble!
    1 Thessalonians 5:3
    For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
  32. Cross References
    Nehemiah 9:2
    Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
    Psalms 32:5
    I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
    Jeremiah 3:25
    We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.
  33. Cross References
    Psalms 106:6
    We have sinned with our fathers, We have committed iniquity, We have done wickedly.
    Jeremiah 8:14
    Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, And let us enter the fortified cities, And let us be silent there. For the LORD our God has put us to silence And given us water of gall to drink, Because we have sinned against the LORD.
    Jeremiah 14:7
    O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, Do it for Your name's sake; For our backslidings are many, We have sinned against You.
    Daniel 9:8
    O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
  34. Cross References
    Psalms 106:45
    And for their sake He remembered His covenant, And relented according to the multitude of His mercies.
  35. Cross References
    Zechariah 10:1
    Ask the LORD for rain In the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone.
  36. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:21
    They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.
  37. Cross References
    1 Kings 17:1
    And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, " As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.
    Jeremiah 5:24
    They do not say in their heart, "Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
  38. Cross References
    Psalms 135:7
    He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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