The Prophets · Old Testament
Jeremiah 14
Jeremiah 14: the dearth, the lying prophets and a plea not to be abhorred
General context
The word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. Judah mourns and her gates languish; the nobles send their little ones for water and they return with empty vessels; the ground is chapped for lack of rain, the wild asses stand on the high places with failing eyes because there is no grass. A plural voice confesses that their iniquities testify against them and asks the Lord to act for his name's sake, asking why he should be as a stranger in the land, and pleading, leave us not. The Lord answers that this people have loved to wander and he will now remember their iniquity. He tells Jeremiah not to pray for their good: when they fast he will not hear, and he will consume them by sword, famine and pestilence. Jeremiah objects that the prophets tell the people they will have assured peace in this place. The Lord replies that those prophets prophesy lies in his name; he did not send them. They will be consumed by sword and famine, and the people they prophesy to will be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem with none to bury them. Jeremiah is to say that his eyes run down with tears night and day because the virgin daughter of his people is broken; in the field are the slain by the sword and in the city the sick with famine. The chapter closes with a plural prayer: has the Lord utterly rejected Judah and loathed Zion; we looked for peace and found trouble; we acknowledge our wickedness; do not abhor us, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory, break not thy covenant; none of the Gentiles' vanities can cause rain, so we will wait upon thee.
Cited passages: Jeremiah 14:1, Jeremiah 14:2, Jeremiah 14:3, Jeremiah 14:4, Jeremiah 14:5, Jeremiah 14:6, Jeremiah 14:7, Jeremiah 14:8, Jeremiah 14:9, Jeremiah 14:10, Jeremiah 14:11, Jeremiah 14:12, Jeremiah 14:13, Jeremiah 14:14, Jeremiah 14:15, Jeremiah 14:16, Jeremiah 14:17, Jeremiah 14:18, Jeremiah 14:19, Jeremiah 14:20, Jeremiah 14:21, Jeremiah 14:22
Jeremiah 14 (KJV)
1The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.
2Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
3And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.
4Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.
5Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass.
6And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.
7O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
8O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?
9Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.
10Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
11Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
12When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
13Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.
14Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
15Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
16And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
17Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.
18If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.
19Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!
20We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
21Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
22Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.
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Historical context
Verse 1 gives the occasion as "the dearth," and verses 2 through 6 describe its effects on gates, nobles, children, plowmen, hind and wild asses; the text gives no year and does not say how long it lasted. The prayers in verses 7 through 9 and 19 through 22 are in the first person plural, "we have sinned against thee," and the text does not say whether the prophet speaks them on the people's behalf or the people speak them. Verses 11 through 16 are a marked exchange: "Then said the Lord unto me," "Then said I," "Then the Lord said unto me." The prohibition of prayer, "Pray not for this people for their good," is the third such command after 7:16 and 11:14. Jeremiah's objection quotes the other prophets' promise, "I will give you assured peace in this place," and the Lord's answer denies their commission three ways: "I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them." No prophet is named. The Lord's sentence on those prophets is sword and famine, the very things they said would not come. Verse 17 is a word Jeremiah is commanded to say, so the tears of that verse are given to him by instruction. The closing prayer asks the Lord not to break "thy covenant with us" and denies that the Gentiles' vanities or the heavens themselves can give rain, tying the plea back to the dearth of verse 1.
Cited passages: Jeremiah 14:1, Jeremiah 14:2, Jeremiah 14:3, Jeremiah 14:7, Jeremiah 14:11, Jeremiah 14:13, Jeremiah 14:14, Jeremiah 14:15, Jeremiah 14:17, Jeremiah 14:19, Jeremiah 14:20, Jeremiah 14:21, Jeremiah 14:22
Literary context
The chapter alternates description, prayer and refusal. The drought is shown from the top of society downward and then out to the animals: gates, nobles, little ones, plowmen, hind, wild asses, each ending in shame or failing eyes. The first prayer uses two images of the Lord as one who does not stay, a stranger in the land and a wayfaring man who lodges for a night, and then denies them, "yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us." The Lord's answer picks up the people's feet: they "have not refrained their feet," so the wandering is theirs, not his. The exchange over the prophets is set as speech and reply, and its logic is a reversal: those who promise no sword and famine will die by sword and famine. Verse 18 is built on a double sight, the field and the city, the slain and the sick. The second prayer repeats the words of 8:15, "we looked for peace, and there is no good," and its request not to disgrace "the throne of thy glory" echoes the promise in 3:17 that Jerusalem would be the Lord's throne. The chapter ends with waiting rather than an answer, and the answer comes at the start of chapter 15.
Cited passages: Jeremiah 14:2, Jeremiah 14:3, Jeremiah 14:6, Jeremiah 14:8, Jeremiah 14:9, Jeremiah 14:10, Jeremiah 14:13, Jeremiah 14:15, Jeremiah 14:18, Jeremiah 14:19, Jeremiah 14:21, Jeremiah 14:22
Key moments
- Empty vessels (Jeremiah 14:3). The nobles' children find no water in the pits and return ashamed.
- The hind forsakes her calf (Jeremiah 14:5). Even the animals suffer because there is no grass.
- Why as a stranger in the land? (Jeremiah 14:8). A plural voice asks why the hope of Israel should be like a man who lodges for a night.
- Pray not for their good (Jeremiah 14:11). The Lord tells Jeremiah he will not hear the people's fasts or accept their offerings.
- Assured peace in this place (Jeremiah 14:13). Jeremiah reports what the other prophets promise.
- I sent them not (Jeremiah 14:14). The Lord says the prophets speak a false vision and the deceit of their heart.
- Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? (Jeremiah 14:19). The closing prayer asks whether the Lord has loathed Zion and pleads for his covenant.
For reflection
The people pray, leave us not, and the Lord tells the prophet not to pray for their good, then commands him to weep for them anyway. What does the chapter suggest about grief that continues after intercession is refused?
