¹ So much of the word of Yahweh as came unto Jeremiah, concerning the matter of the drought:—

² Judah mourneth, And the gates thereof, pine They lie in gloom on the ground,—And, the outcry of Jerusalem, hath ascended;

³ And, their nobles have sent their menials to the waters,—They have been to the pits, They have found no water They have returned, their vessels empty, They are pale and ashamed and have covered their heads.

⁴ Because the ground, is cracked, For there hath been no rain in the land, The plowmen are pale They have covered their heads.

⁵ For, even the hind of the field hath calved and forsaken, Because there is no young herbage;

⁶ Yea, wild asses stand still on the bare heights, They pant for air like jackals,—Dimmed are their eyes Because there is no grass.

⁷ Though, our iniquities, have testified against us, O Yahweh, effectually work thou for the sake of thy Name,—For our apostasies have abounded Against thee, have we sinned.

⁸ Thou Hope of Israel, His Saviour in the time of distress,—Wherefore shouldst thou be as a sojourner in the and? Or as a wayfarer, who hath turned aside to lodge for the night?

⁹ Wherefore, shouldst thou be as a man astounded, As a mighty man who cannot save? Yet, thou, art in our midst—O Yahweh And, thy Name, on us, hath been called Do not abandon us!

¹⁰ Thus, saith Yahweh To this people In this way, have they loved to wander, Their feet, have they not restrained,—Yahweh, therefore hath not accepted them, Now, will he call to mind their iniquity,—That he may punish their sins.

¹¹ And Yahweh said unto me,—Do not pray for this people for blessing;

¹² Though they fast, I am not going to hearken unto their loud cry, and Though they offer ascending-sacrifice and meal-offering, I am not going to accept them,—For with sword and with famine and with pestilence, am, I, about to consume them.

¹³ Then said I, Ah, My Lord Yahweh! Lo! the prophets, are saying to them—Ye shall not see the sword And famine, shall ye not have,—For prosperity in truth, will I give you, in this place.

¹⁴ So then Yahweh said unto me, Falsehood, are the prophets prophesying in my name, I have not sent them Neither have I commanded them, Neither have I spoken unto them,—A vision of falsehood, and A divination of worthlessness and A fraud of their own hearts, They, are prophesying unto you.

¹⁵ Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh concerning the prophets who are prophesying in my Name though, I, sent them not, and yet, they have been, saying, Neither sword nor famine, shall there be in this land,—By sword or by famine, shall, those prophets, be consumed;

¹⁶ And the people to whom they have been prophesying shall be getting cast out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword, and of there being none to give burial unto them, them, their wives, nor their sons nor their daughters,—So will I pour out upon them their own wickedness.

¹⁷ Therefore shalt thou say unto them this word, Let mine eyes, run down with tears night and day, And let them not rest,—For with a grievous injury, hath been injured the virgin the daughter of my people, With a wound, severe indeed!

¹⁸ If I have gone out into the field, Then lo! the slain of the sword! And, if I have entered the city, Then lo! the diseases of famine! For, both prophet and priest, have trafficked against the land unnoticed.

¹⁹ Hast thou, utterly rejected, Judah? Zion itself, hath thy soul loathed? Why, hast thou smitten us so that there is for us no healing? A waiting For prosperity, but no welfare, and For a time of healing, but lo! terror!

²⁰ We acknowledge O Yahweh Our own lawlessness The iniquity of our fathers,—For we have sinned against thee.

²¹ Do not despise—for the sake of thy Name, Do not treat with contempt—the throne of thy glory,—Remember!—do not break thy covenant with us.

²² Are there, among the vanities of the nations senders of rain? Or can, the heavens themselves, give myriad drops? Art not, thou, he, O Yahweh our God? Therefore will we wait for thee, For, thou, hast made all these.