Jeremiah 14:1-9

¹This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

²“Judah mourns

and her gates languish.

Her people wail for the land,

and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.

³The nobles send their servants for water;

they go to the cisterns, but find no water;

their jars return empty.

They are ashamed and humiliated;

they cover their heads.

⁴The ground is cracked

because no rain has fallen on the land.

The farmers are ashamed;

they cover their heads.

⁵Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn

because there is no grass.

⁶Wild donkeys stand on barren heights;

they pant for air like jackals;

their eyes fail for lack of pasture.”

⁷Although our iniquities testify against us, O LORD,

act for the sake of Your name.

Indeed, our rebellions are many;

we have sinned against You.

⁸O Hope of Israel,

its Savior in times of distress,

why are You like a stranger in the land,

like a traveler who stays but a night?

⁹Why are You like a man taken by surprise,

like a warrior powerless to save?

Yet You are among us, O LORD,

and we are called by Your name.

Do not forsake us!