Jeremiah 14-17; Psalms 17 - Prayer Tents

Judah’s Terrible Drought

14This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord, explaining why he was holding back the rain.H1697H3068H3414H1697H1226 2“Judah wilts; commerce at the city gates grinds to a halt. All the people sit on the ground in mourning, and a great cry rises from Jerusalem.H3063H56H8179H535H6937H776H6682H3389H5927 3The nobles send servants to get water, but all the wells are dry. The servants return with empty pitchers, confused and desperate, covering their heads in grief.H117H7971H6810H4325H935H1356H1360H4672H4325H7725H3627H7387H954H3637H2645H7218 4The ground is parched and cracked for lack of rain. The farmers are deeply troubled; they, too, cover their heads.H127H2865H1653H776H406H954H2645H7218 5Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn because there is no grass in the field.H365H3205H7704H5800H1877 6The wild donkeys stand on the bare hills panting like thirsty jackals. They strain their eyes looking for grass, but there is none to be found.”H6501H5975H8205H7602H7307H8577H5869H3615H6212 7The people say, “Our wickedness has caught up with us, Lord, but help us for the sake of your own reputation. We have turned away from you and sinned against you again and again.H3068H5771H6030H6213H8034H4878H7231H2398 8O Hope of Israel, our Savior in times of trouble, why are you like a stranger to us? Why are you like a traveler passing through the land, stopping only for the night?H4723H3478H3467H6256H6869H1616H776H732H5186H3885 9Are you also confused? Is our champion helpless to save us? You are right here among us, Lord. We are known as your people. Please don’t abandon us now!”H376H1724H1368H3201H3467H3068H7130H7121H8034H3240 10So this is what the Lord says to his people: “You love to wander far from me and do not restrain yourselves. Therefore, I will no longer accept you as my people. Now I will remember all your wickedness and will punish you for your sins.”H559H3068H5971H157H5128H2820H7272H3068H7521H2142H5771H6485H2403

The Lord Forbids Jeremiah to Intercede

11Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for these people anymore.H559H3068H6419H5971H2896 12When they fast, I will pay no attention. When they present their burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will devour them with war, famine, and disease.”H6684H8085H7440H5927H5930H4503H7521H3615H2719H7458H1698 13Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, their prophets are telling them, ‘All is well—no war or famine will come. The Lord will surely send you peace.’”H559H162H136H3069H5030H559H7200H2719H7458H5414H571H7965H4725 14Then the Lord said, “These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts.H3068H559H5030H5012H8267H8034H7971H6680H1696H5012H8267H2377H7081H457H434H8649H3820 15Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will punish these lying prophets, for they have spoken in my name even though I never sent them. They say that no war or famine will come, but they themselves will die by war and famine!H559H3068H5030H5012H8034H7971H559H2719H7458H776H2719H7458H5030H8552 16As for the people to whom they prophesy—their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will be no one left to bury them. Husbands, wives, sons, and daughters—all will be gone. For I will pour out their own wickedness on them.H5971H5012H7993H2351H3389H6440H7458H2719H6912H1992H802H1121H1323H8210H7451 17Now, Jeremiah, say this to them: “Night and day my eyes overflow with tears. I cannot stop weeping, for my virgin daughter—my precious people—has been struck down and lies mortally wounded.H559H1697H5869H3381H1832H3915H3119H1820H1330H1323H5971H7665H1419H7667H3966H2470H4347 18If I go out into the fields, I see the bodies of people slaughtered by the enemy. If I walk the city streets, I see people who have died of starvation. The prophets and priests continue with their work, but they don’t know what they’re doing.”H3318H7704H2491H2719H935H5892H8463H7458H5030H3548H5503H776H3045

A Prayer for Healing

19Lord, have you completely rejected Judah? Do you really hate Jerusalem? Why have you wounded us past all hope of healing? We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.H3988H3988H3063H5315H1602H6726H5221H4832H6960H7965H2896H6256H4832H1205 20Lord, we confess our wickedness and that of our ancestors, too. We all have sinned against you.H3045H3068H7562H5771H1H2398 21For the sake of your reputation, Lord, do not abandon us. Do not disgrace your own glorious throne. Please remember us, and do not break your covenant with us.H5006H8034H5034H3678H3519H2142H6565H1285 22Can any of the worthless foreign gods send us rain? Does it fall from the sky by itself? No, you are the one, O Lord our God! Only you can do such things. So we will wait for you to help us.H3426H1892H1471H1652H8064H5414H7241H3068H430H6960H6213

Judah’s Inevitable Doom

15Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I wouldn’t help them. Away with them! Get them out of my sight!H559H3068H4872H8050H5975H6440H5315H5971H7971H6440H3318 2And if they say to you, ‘But where can we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘Those who are destined for death, to death; those who are destined for war, to war; those who are destined for famine, to famine; those who are destined for captivity, to captivity.’H559H3318H559H559H3068H4194H4194H2719H2719H7458H7458H7628H7628 3“I will send four kinds of destroyers against them,” says the Lord. “I will send the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, the vultures to devour, and the wild animals to finish up what is left.H6485H702H4940H5002H3068H2719H2026H3611H5498H5775H8064H929H776H398H7843 4Because of the wicked things Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem, I will make my people an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.H5414H2189H2113H4467H776H1558H4519H1121H3169H4428H3063H6213H3389 5“Who will feel sorry for you, Jerusalem? Who will weep for you? Who will even bother to ask how you are?H2550H3389H5110H5493H7592H7965 6You have abandoned me and turned your back on me,” says the Lord. “Therefore, I will raise my fist to destroy you. I am tired of always giving you another chance.H5203H5002H3068H3212H268H5186H3027H7843H3811H5162 7I will winnow you like grain at the gates of your cities and take away the children you hold dear. I will destroy my own people, because they refuse to change their evil ways.H2219H4214H8179H776H7921H6H5971H7725H1870 8There will be more widows than the grains of sand on the seashore. At noontime I will bring a destroyer against the mothers of young men. I will cause anguish and terror to come upon them suddenly.H490H6105H2344H3220H935H517H970H7703H6672H5307H6597H928H5892 9The mother of seven grows faint and gasps for breath; her sun has gone down while it is still day. She sits childless now, disgraced and humiliated. And I will hand over those who are left to be killed by the enemy. I, the Lord, have spoken!”H3205H7651H535H5301H5315H8121H935H3119H3117H954H2659H7611H5414H2719H6440H341H5002H3068

Jeremiah’s Complaint

10Then I said, “What sorrow is mine, my mother. Oh, that I had died at birth! I am hated everywhere I go. I am neither a lender who threatens to foreclose nor a borrower who refuses to pay—yet they all curse me.”H188H517H3205H376H7379H376H4066H776H5383H5383H7043 11The Lord replied, “I will take care of you, Jeremiah. Your enemies will ask you to plead on their behalf in times of trouble and distress.H3068H559H3808H518H2896H8281H8293H518H341H6293H6256H7451H6256H6869 12Can a man break a bar of iron from the north, or a bar of bronze?H1270H7489H6828H1270H5178 13At no cost to them, I will hand over your wealth and treasures as plunder to your enemies, for sin runs rampant in your land.H2428H214H5414H957H4242H2403H1366 14I will tell your enemies to take you as captives to a foreign land. For my anger blazes like a fire that will burn forever.”H5674H341H776H3045H784H6919H639H3344 15Then I said, “Lord, you know what’s happening to me. Please step in and help me. Punish my persecutors! Please give me time; don’t let me die young. It’s for your sake that I am suffering.H3068H3045H2142H6485H5358H7291H3947H639H750H3045H5375H2781 16When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.H1697H4672H398H1697H8342H8057H3824H7121H8034H3068H430H6635 17I never joined the people in their merry feasts. I sat alone because your hand was on me. I was filled with indignation at their sins.H3427H5475H7832H5937H3427H910H6440H3027H4390H2195 18Why then does my suffering continue? Why is my wound so incurable? Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook, like a spring that has gone dry.”H3511H5331H4347H605H3985H7495H391H4325H539 19This is how the Lord responds: “If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you!H559H3068H7725H7725H5975H6440H3318H3368H2151H6310H7725H7725 20They will fight against you like an attacking army, but I will make you as secure as a fortified wall of bronze. They will not conquer you, for I am with you to protect and rescue you. I, the Lord, have spoken!H5414H5971H1219H5178H2346H3898H3201H3467H5337H5002H3068 21Yes, I will certainly keep you safe from these wicked men. I will rescue you from their cruel hands.”H5337H3027H7451H6299H3709H6184

Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry

16The Lord gave me another message. He said,H1697H3068H559 2“Do not get married or have children in this place.H3947H802H1121H1323H4725 3For this is what the Lord says about the children born here in this city and about their mothers and fathers:H559H3068H1121H1323H3205H4725H517H3205H1H3209H776 4They will die from terrible diseases. No one will mourn for them or bury them, and they will lie scattered on the ground like manure. They will die from war and famine, and their bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals.”H4191H8463H4463H5594H6912H1828H6440H127H3615H2719H7458H5038H3978H5775H8064H929H776

Judah’s Coming Punishment

5This is what the Lord says: “Do not go to funerals to mourn and show sympathy for these people, for I have removed my protection and peace from them. I have taken away my unfailing love and my mercy.H559H3068H935H1004H4798H3212H5594H5110H622H7965H5971H5002H3068H2617H7356 6Both the great and the lowly will die in this land. No one will bury them or mourn for them. Their friends will not cut themselves in sorrow or shave their heads in sadness.H1419H6996H4191H776H6912H5594H1413H7139 7No one will offer a meal to comfort those who mourn for the dead—not even at the death of a mother or father. No one will send a cup of wine to console them.H6536H60H5162H4191H3563H8575H8248H1H517 8“And do not go to their feasts and parties. Do not eat and drink with them at all.H935H1004H4960H3427H398H8354 9For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: In your own lifetime, before your very eyes, I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in this land. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard.H559H3068H6635H430H3478H7673H4725H5869H3117H6963H8342H6963H8057H6963H2860H6963H3618 10“When you tell the people all these things, they will ask, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such terrible things against us? What have we done to deserve such treatment? What is our sin against the Lord our God?’H5046H5971H1697H559H3068H1696H1419H7451H5771H2403H2398H3068H430 11“Then you will give them the Lord’s reply: ‘It is because your ancestors were unfaithful to me. They worshiped other gods and served them. They abandoned me and did not obey my word.H559H1H5800H5002H3068H3212H310H312H430H5647H7812H5800H8104H8451 12And you are even worse than your ancestors! You stubbornly follow your own evil desires and refuse to listen to me.H6213H7489H1H2009H1980H376H310H8307H7451H3820H8085 13So I will throw you out of this land and send you into a foreign land where you and your ancestors have never been. There you can worship idols day and night—and I will grant you no favors!’H2904H776H776H3045H1H5647H312H430H3119H3915H5414H2594

Hope despite the Disaster

14“But the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when people who are taking an oath will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’H3117H935H5002H3068H559H3068H2416H5927H1121H3478H776H4714 15Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ For I will bring them back to this land that I gave their ancestors.H3068H2416H5927H1121H3478H776H6828H776H5080H7725H127H5414H1 16“But now I am sending for many fishermen who will catch them,” says the Lord. “I am sending for hunters who will hunt them down in the mountains, hills, and caves.H7971H7227H1771H1728H5002H3068H1770H310H7971H7227H6719H6679H2022H1389H5357H5553 17I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me.H5869H1870H5641H6440H5771H6845H5048H5869 18I will double their punishment for all their sins, because they have defiled my land with lifeless images of their detestable gods and have filled my territory with their evil deeds.”H7223H7999H5771H2403H4932H2490H776H4390H5159H5038H8251H8441

Jeremiah’s Prayer of Confidence

19Lord, you are my strength and fortress, my refuge in the day of trouble! Nations from around the world will come to you and say, “Our ancestors left us a foolish heritage, for they worshiped worthless idols.H3068H5797H4581H4498H3117H6869H1471H935H657H776H559H1H5157H8267H1892H3276 20Can people make their own gods? These are not real gods at all!”H120H6213H430H430 21The Lord says, “Now I will show them my power; now I will show them my might. At last they will know and understand that I am the Lord.H6471H3045H3045H3027H1369H3045H8034H3068

Judah’s Sin and Punishment

17“The sin of Judah is inscribed with an iron chisel—engraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts and on the corners of their altars.H2403H3063H3789H5842H1270H6856H8068H2790H3871H3820H7161H4196 2Even their children go to worship at their pagan altars and Asherah poles, beneath every green tree and on every high hill.H1121H2142H4196H842H7488H6086H1364H1389 3So I will hand over my holy mountain—along with all your wealth and treasures and your pagan shrines—as plunder to your enemies, for sin runs rampant in your land.H2042H7704H5414H2428H214H957H1116H2403H1366 4The wonderful possession I have reserved for you will slip from your hands. I will tell your enemies to take you as captives to a foreign land. For my anger blazes like a fire that will burn forever.”isdom from the LordH8058H5159H5414H5647H341H776H3045H6919H784H639H3344H5704H5769

Wisdom from the Lord

5This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord.H559H3068H779H1397H982H120H7760H1320H2220H3820H5493H3068 6They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.H6199H6160H7200H2896H935H7931H2788H4057H4420H776H3427 7“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.H1288H1397H982H3068H4009H3068 8They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.H6086H8362H4325H7971H8328H3105H7200H2527H935H5929H7488H1672H8141H1226H4185H6213H6529 9“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?H3820H6121H605H3045 10But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”H3068H2713H3820H974H3629H5414H376H1870H6529H4611

Jeremiah’s Trust in the Lord

11Like a partridge that hatches eggs she has not laid, so are those who get their wealth by unjust means. At midlife they will lose their riches; in the end, they will become poor old fools.H7124H1716H3205H6213H6239H4941H5800H2677H3117H319H5036 12But we worship at your throne—eternal, high, and glorious!H3519H4791H3678H7223H4725H4720 13O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced. They will be buried in the dust of the earth, for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.H3068H4723H3478H5800H954H3249H5493H3789H776H5800H3068H4726H2416H4325 14O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone!H7495H3068H7495H3467H3467H8416 15People scoff at me and say, “What is this ‘message from the Lord’ you talk about? Why don’t your predictions come true?”H559H1697H3068H935 16Lord, I have not abandoned my job as a shepherd for your people. I have not urged you to send disaster. You have heard everything I’ve said.H213H7462H310H183H605H3117H3045H4161H8193H5227H6440 17Lord, don’t terrorize me! You alone are my hope in the day of disaster.H4288H4268H3117H7451 18Bring shame and dismay on all who persecute me, but don’t let me experience shame and dismay. Bring a day of terror on them. Yes, bring double destruction upon them!H954H7291H954H2865H2865H935H3117H7451H7665H4932H7670

Observing the Sabbath

19This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand in the gates of Jerusalem, first in the gate where the king goes in and out, and then in each of the other gates.H559H3068H1980H5975H8179H1121H5971H4428H3063H935H3318H8179H3389 20Say to all the people, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you kings of Judah and all you people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem.H559H8085H1697H3068H4428H3063H3063H3427H3389H935H8179 21This is what the Lord says: Listen to my warning! Stop carrying on your trade at Jerusalem’s gates on the Sabbath day.H559H3068H8104H5315H5375H4853H7676H3117H935H8179H3389 22Do not do your work on the Sabbath, but make it a holy day. I gave this command to your ancestors,H3318H4853H1004H7676H3117H6213H4399H6942H7676H3117H6680H1 23but they did not listen or obey. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or accept my discipline.H8085H5186H241H6203H7185H8085H3947H4148 24“‘But if you obey me, says the Lord, and do not carry on your trade at the gates or work on the Sabbath day, and if you keep it holy,H8085H8085H5002H3068H935H4853H8179H5892H7676H3117H6942H7676H3117H6213H1115H4399 25then kings and their officials will go in and out of these gates forever. There will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. Kings and their officials will always ride in and out among the people of Judah in chariots and on horses, and this city will remain forever.H935H8179H5892H4428H8269H3427H3678H1732H7392H7393H5483H8269H376H3063H3427H3389H5892H3427H5769 26And from all around Jerusalem, from the towns of Judah and Benjamin, from the western foothills and the hill country and the Negev, the people will come with their burnt offerings and sacrifices. They will bring their grain offerings, frankincense, and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord’s Temple.H935H5892H3063H5439H3389H776H1144H8219H2022H5045H935H5930H2077H4503H3828H935H8426H1004H3068 27“‘But if you do not listen to me and refuse to keep the Sabbath holy, and if on the Sabbath day you bring loads of merchandise through the gates of Jerusalem just as on other days, then I will set fire to these gates. The fire will spread to the palaces, and no one will be able to put out the roaring flames.’”H8085H6942H7676H3117H5375H4853H935H8179H3389H7676H3117H3341H784H8179H398H759H3389H3518

17[A prayer of David.] O LORD, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from honest lips.H8605H1732H8085H6664H3068H7181H7440H238H8605H3808H4820H8193 2Declare me innocent, for you see those who do right.H4941H3318H6440H5869H2372H4339 3You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night. You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong. I am determined not to sin in what I say.H974H3820H6485H3915H6884H4672H2161H6310H5674 4I have followed your commands, which keep me from following cruel and evil people.H6468H120H1697H8193H8104H734H6530 5My steps have stayed on your path; I have not wavered from following you.H8551H838H4570H6471H4131 6I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray.H7121H6030H410H5186H241H8085H565 7Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies.H6395H2617H3467H3225H2620H6965 8Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of your wings.H8104H380H1323H5869H5641H6738H3671 9Protect me from wicked people who attack me, from murderous enemies who surround me.H6440H7563H2098H7703H5315H341H5362 10They are without pity. Listen to their boasting!H5462H2459H6310H1696H1348 11They track me down and surround me, watching for the chance to throw me to the ground.H5437H838H7896H5869H5186H776 12They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me apart—like young lions hiding in ambush.H1825H738H3700H2963H3715H3427H4565 13Arise, O LORD! Stand against them, and bring them to their knees! Rescue me from the wicked with your sword!H6965H3068H6923H6440H3766H6403H5315H7563H2719 14By the power of your hand, O LORD, destroy those who look to this world for their reward. But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones. May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants.H4962H3027H3068H4962H2465H2506H2416H990H4390H6840H7646H1121H3240H3499H5768 15Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.H2372H6440H6664H7646H6974H8544