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.
21. For your sake, do not hate us.Do not take away the honor from your glorious throne.Remember your agreement with us,and do not break it.
22. Do foreign idols have the power to bring rain?Does the sky itself have the power to send down showers?No, it is you, Lord our God.You are our only hope,because you are the one who made all these things.