# Jeremiah 14 (New King James Version)
Sword, Famine, and Pestilence

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

###### 2 "Judah mourns,  
And her gates languish;  
They mourn for the land,  
And 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 ashamed and confounded  
And covered their heads.  

###### 4 Because the ground is parched,  
For there was no rain in the land,  
The plowmen were ashamed;  
They covered their heads.  

###### 5 Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field,  
But left because there was no grass.  

###### 6 And 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 for Your name's sake;  
For our backslidings are many,  
We have sinned against You.  

###### 8 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 _who_ cannot save?  
Yet You, O Lord, _are_ in our midst,  
And we are called by Your name;  
Do not leave us!

###### 10 Thus says the Lord to this people:
"Thus they have loved to wander;  
They have not restrained their feet.  
Therefore the Lord does not accept them;  
He will remember their iniquity now,  
And punish their sins."

###### 11 Then the Lord said to me, "Do not pray for this people, for _their_ good.  
###### 12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence."

###### 13 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 assured peace in this place.' "

###### 14 And the Lord said to me, "The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.  
###### 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, 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; 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:
'Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,  
And let them not cease;  
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 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 priest go about in a land they do not know.' "The People Plead for Mercy

###### 19 Have You utterly rejected Judah?  
Has Your soul loathed Zion?  
Why have You stricken us so that _there is_ no healing for us?  
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 fathers,  
For we have sinned against You.  

###### 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.  

###### 22 Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain?  
Or can the heavens give showers?  
_Are_ You not He, O Lord our God?  
Therefore we will wait for You,  
Since You have made all these.