11. Then the Lord said, “Don’t pray for good things to happen to the people of Judah.
12. Even if they fast, I will not listen to their prayers. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy the people of Judah with war, hunger, and terrible diseases.”
13. But I said, “Oh, Lord God, the prophets keep telling the people, ‘You will not suffer from an enemy’s sword or from hunger. I, the Lord, will give you peace in this land.’ ”
14. Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They have been prophesying false visions, idolatries, worthless magic, and their own wishful thinking.
15. So this is what I say about the prophets who are prophesying in my name. I did not send them. They say, ‘No enemy will attack this country with swords. There will never be hunger in this land.’ So those prophets will die from hunger and from an enemy’s sword.
16. And the people to whom the prophets speak will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem. There they will die from hunger and from an enemy’s sword. And no one will be there to bury them, or their wives, or their sons, or their daughters. I will punish them.
17. “Jeremiah, speak this message to the people of Judah:‘Let my eyes be filled with tearsnight and day, without stopping.My people have received a terrible blow;they have been hurt badly.
18. If I go into the country,I see people killed by swords.If I go into the city,I see much sickness, because the people have no food.Both the priests and the prophetshave been taken to a foreign land.’ ”
19. Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?Do you hate Jerusalem?Why have you hurt us so badlythat we cannot be made well again?We hoped for peace,but nothing good has come.We looked for a time of healing,but only terror came.
20. Lord, we admit that we are wickedand that our ancestors did evil things.We have sinned against you.