1. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2. Judah mourns;her gates languish. Her people are on the ground in mourning;Jerusalem’s cry rises up.
3. Their nobles send their servants for water.They go to the cisterns;they find no water;their containers return empty.They are ashamed and humiliated;they cover their heads.
4. The ground is crackedsince no rain has fallen on the land.The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
5. Even the doe in the fieldgives birth and abandons her fawnsince there is no grass.
6. Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights panting for air like jackals.Their eyes failbecause there are no green plants.
7. Though our guilt testifies against us,Yahweh, act for Your name’s sake.Indeed, our rebellions are many;we have sinned against You.
8. Hope of Israel, its Savior in time of distress,why are You like a foreigner in the land,like a traveler stopping only for the night?
9. Why are You like a helpless man,like a warrior unable to save? Yet You are among us, Yahweh, and we are called by Your name.Don’t leave us!
10. This is what the Lord says concerning these people:Truly they love to wander; they never rest their feet.So the Lord does not accept them.Now He will remember their guiltand punish their sins.