6. Wild donkeys stand on the hilltopsand pant for breath like jackals.Their eyes are strained looking for food,because there is none to be found.”
7. Then I said, “O Lord, intervene for the honor of your nameeven though our sins speak out against us.Indeed, we have turned away from you many times.We have sinned against you.
8. You have been the object of Israel’s hopes.You have saved them when they were in trouble.Why have you become like a resident foreigner in the land?Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?
9. Why should you be like someone who is helpless,like a champion who cannot save anyone?You are indeed with us,and we belong to you.Do not abandon us!”
10. Then the Lord spoke about these people. “They truly love to go astray.They cannot keep from running away from me.So I am not pleased with them.I will now call to mind the wrongs they have doneand punish them for their sins.”
11. Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good to come to these people!
12. Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues.”
13. Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, look! The prophets are telling them that you said, ‘You will not experience war or suffer famine. I will give you lasting peace and prosperity in this land.’”
14. Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! I did not send them. I did not commission them. I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, and the delusions of their own mind.
15. I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, ‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the Lord, say this about them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’
16. The people to whom they are prophesying will die through war and famine. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to the men and their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out on them the destruction they deserve.”
17. “Tell these people this, Jeremiah:‘My eyes overflow with tears day and night without ceasing.For my people, my dear children, have suffered a crushing blow.They have suffered a serious wound.