1 And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah concerning the drought. 2 Judea has mourned, and her gates are emptied, and are darkened upon the earth; and the cry of Jerusalem has gone up. 3 And her nobles have sent their little ones to the water: they came to the wells, and found no water: and brought back their vessels empty. 4 And the labors of the land failed, because there was no rain: the farmers were ashamed, they covered their heads. 5 And hinds calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. 6 The wild donkeys stood by the forests, and snuffed up the wind; their eyes failed, because there was no grass,⁠a because of a people of iniquity. 7 If our sins have risen up against us, Lord, act for us for your own sake; for our sins are many before you; for we have sinned against you. 8 Lord, you are the hope of Israel, and deliver us in time of troubles; why have you become as a temporary resident upon the land, or as one born in the land, yet turning aside for a resting-place? 9 Will you be as a man asleep, or as a strong man that cannot save? yet you are among us, Lord, and your name is called upon us; do not forget us. 10 Thus says the Lord to this people, They have loved to wander, and they have not spared, therefore God has not prospered them; now he will remember their iniquity. 11 And the Lord said to me, Do not pray for this people for their good: 12 for though they fast, I will not hear their plea; and though they offer whole burnt offerings and sacrifices, I will take no pleasure in them: for I will consume them with sword, and with famine, and with pestilence. 13 And I said, Lord! look, their prophets prophesy, and say, You shall not see a sword, nor shall famine be among you; for I will give truth and peace on the land, and in this place. 14 Then the Lord said to me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I did not send them, and I did not command them, and I did not speak to them: for they prophesy to you false visions, and divinations, and auguries, and devices of their own heart. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy lies in my name, and I did not send them, who say, Sword and famine shall not be upon this land; they shall die by a severe death, and the prophets shall be consumed by famine. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy, they also shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, because of the sword and famine; and there shall be none to bury them, and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters; and I will pour out their wickedness upon them. 17 And you shall speak this word to them; Let your eyes shed tears day and night, and let them not cease: for the daughter of my people has been sorely bruised, and her plague is very severe. 18 If I go forth into the plain, then look, those killed by the sword! and if I enter into the city, then look, the distress of famine! for priest and prophet have gone to a land which they did not know. 19 Have you utterly rejected Judah? and has your soul departed from Zion? why have you struck us, and there is no healing for us? we waited for peace, but there was no prosperity; for a time of healing, and look, trouble! 20 We know, Lord, our sins, and the iniquities of our fathers: for we have sinned before you. 21 Refrain for your name's sake, do not destroy the throne of your glory: remember, do not break your covenant with us. 22 Is there any one among the idols of the Gentiles that can give rain? and will the sky yield its fulness at their bidding? Are not you he? we will even wait on you, Lord: for you have made all these things.