Jeremiah14

Jeremiah 14 opens with a lament over a severe drought in Judah, causing widespread suffering among people and animals. Jeremiah intercedes, acknowledging the people's sin but appealing to God's name and covenant. However, the Lord declares He will not hear their prayers due to their persistent wandering and warns against false prophets who promise peace, stating they and their followers will perish by sword and famine. Jeremiah continues to mourn the impending judgment and again pleads for God's mercy, affirming His sole power over creation.

The Great Drought

1
the LORD’s word that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought. ​
2
Judah mourns, and its gates languish, they sit in black on the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. ​
3
Their nobles send their little ones to the waters: they come to the cisterns, and find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are disappointed and confounded, and cover their heads. ​
4
Because of the ground which is cracked, because no rain has been in the land, the plowmen are disappointed, they cover their heads. ​
5
Yes, the hind also in the field calves, and forsakes her young, because there is no grass.
6
The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights, they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail, because there is no herbage.

Acknowledgment of Sin and Prayer for Mercy

7
Though our iniquities testify against us, work for your name’s sake, LORD; for our rebellions are many; we have sinned against you. ​
8
You hope of Israel, its Savior in the time of trouble, why should you be as a foreigner in the land, and as a wayfaring man who turns aside to stay for a night? ​
9
Why should you be like a scared man, as a mighty man who can’t save? Yet you, LORD, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; don’t leave us.

The LORD Rejects the People's Prayer

10
Thus says the LORD to this people, Even so have they loved to wander; they have not refrained their feet: therefore the LORD does not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. ​
11
The LORD said to me, Don’t pray for this people for their good. ​
12
When 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. ​

Jeremiah Intercedes Regarding False Prophets

13
Then I said, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets tell them, You shall not see the sword, neither shall you have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. ​
14
Then the LORD said to me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name; I didn’t send them, neither have I commanded them, neither spoke I to them: they prophesy to you a lying vision, and divination, and a thing of nothing, and the deceit of their own heart. ​
15
Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, and I didn’t send them, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. ​
16
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 no one to bury them—them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness on them. ​

Jeremiah’s Lament and the People’s Final Plea

17
You 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. ​
18
If I go out 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.
19
Have you utterly rejected Judah? has your soul loathed Zion? why have you struck 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! ​
20
We acknowledge, 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, don’t break your covenant with us. ​
22
Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? or can the sky give showers? Aren’t you he, the LORD our God? therefore we will wait for you; for you have made all these things. ​

Study Notes for Jeremiah 14

Verse 1

This chapter introduces a specific prophecy concerning a severe drought (dearth), which was understood as a direct covenant curse (Deut. 28:23-24) resulting from Judah’s persistent idolatry.

Verse 2

The 'gates thereof languish' describes the complete paralysis of civil life; the city gates were the centers for commerce, justice, and social gathering.

Verse 3

The failure of the nobles to find water, even sending their servants (little ones) to distant pits, illustrates the extreme societal breakdown and desperation caused by the famine.

Verse 4

The shame of the plowmen underscores the completeness of the agricultural disaster; the inability to work the land signified that the foundation of the economy and life itself had failed.

Verse 7

This is Judah’s first lament, acknowledging their sin while immediately appealing to God’s honor and reputation ('thy name’s sake') as the basis for receiving mercy.

Verse 8

The people challenge God, asking why He acts like a temporary guest or a 'stranger' rather than the ever-present Savior and protector of Israel.

Verse 10

God’s response indicates that their repentance is superficial; though they lament, their hearts still 'love to wander' into idolatry, meaning their formal rituals are rejected.

Verse 11

This is the second of three times (cf. 7:16; 11:14) that God explicitly forbids Jeremiah from interceding for Judah, signaling that the divine decision for judgment is final and irreversible.

Verse 12

God rejects their religious rituals (fasts, burnt offerings) because they are offered without genuine obedience or repentance, emphasizing that justice precedes ritual acceptance.

Verse 13

Jeremiah attempts to mitigate the judgment by shifting the blame to the false prophets, who were actively misleading the people by promising 'assured peace' (*shalom*).

Verse 14

The LORD condemns the false prophets sharply, noting that their messages are based on self-deception and unauthorized 'divination,' not divine command.

Verse 15

The punishment is perfectly fitting: those who promised safety from the sword and famine will themselves be consumed by those very curses.

Verse 16

A terrible aspect of the judgment is the lack of burial, which was considered the ultimate societal disgrace and a sign of utter rejection in the ancient Near East.

Verse 17

Jeremiah is commanded to embody the divine grief, weeping continually for the destruction of the 'virgin daughter of my people,' an image emphasizing Judah’s vulnerability and former status.

Verse 19

The people’s second lament questions God’s utter rejection, highlighting the painful contrast between their expectation of 'peace' and the reality of inescapable 'trouble.'

Verse 21

Appealing to the 'throne of thy glory' (likely the Temple in Jerusalem), they argue that destroying Judah and the Temple would bring disgrace upon God’s name among the surrounding nations.

Verse 22

This final verse serves as a powerful confession of monotheism, affirming that Yahweh alone controls creation (rain) and rejecting the 'vanities of the Gentiles' (idols), concluding their desperate plea with renewed commitment.

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