1. This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2. ‘Judah mourns,her cities languish;they wail for the land,and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3. The nobles send their servants for water;they go to the cisternsbut find no water.They return with their jars unfilled;dismayed and despairing,they cover their heads.
4. The ground is crackedbecause there is no rain in the land;the farmers are dismayedand cover their heads.
5. Even the doe in the fielddeserts her newborn fawnbecause there is no grass.
6. Wild donkeys stand on the barren heightsand pant like jackals;their eyes failfor lack of food.’
7. Although our sins testify against us,do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.For we have often rebelled;we have sinned against you.
8. You who are the hope of Israel,its Saviour in times of distress,why are you like a stranger in the land,like a traveller who stays only a night?
9. Why are you like a man taken by surprise,like a warrior powerless to save?You are among us, Lord,and we bear your name;do not forsake us!
10. This is what the Lord says about this people:‘They greatly love to wander;they do not restrain their feet.So the Lord does not accept them;he will now remember their wickednessand punish them for their sins.’