Jeremiah, typically God's mouthpiece for judgment, here becomes the conduit for describing collective suffering, reversing his usual role from prosecutor to witness of divine consequence.
Jeremiah 14
The Great Drought
1This is the LORD’s word that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2“Judah mourns, and its gates languish. They sit in black on the ground. The cry of Jerusalem goes up.
3Their nobles send their little ones to the waters. They come to the cisterns, and find no water. They return with their vessels empty. They are disappointed and confounded, and cover their heads.
4Because of the ground which is cracked, because no rain has been in the land, the plowmen are disappointed. They cover their heads.
5Yes, the doe in the field also calves and forsakes her young, because there is no grass.
6The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights. They pant for air like jackals. Their eyes fail, because there is no vegetation.
Prayer and Divine Response
7Though our iniquities testify against us, work for your name’s sake, LORD; for our rebellions are many. We have sinned against you.
8You hope of Israel, its Savior in the time of trouble, why should you be as a foreigner in the land, and as a wayfaring man who turns aside to stay for a night?
9Why should you be like a scared man, as a mighty man who can’t save? Yet you, LORD, are in the middle of us, and we are called by your name. Don’t leave us.
10The LORD says to this people: “Even so they have loved to wander. They have not restrained their feet. Therefore the LORD does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity, and punish them for their sins.”
11The LORD said to me, “Don’t pray for this people for their good.
12When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and meal offering, I will not accept them; but I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
False Prophets and Their Fate
13Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, the prophets tell them, ‘You will not see the sword, neither will you have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.’”
14Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in my name. I didn’t send them. I didn’t command them. I didn’t speak to them. They prophesy to you a lying vision, divination, and a thing of nothing, and the deceit of their own heart.
15Therefore the LORD says concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, but I didn’t send them, yet they say, ‘Sword and famine will not be in this land.’ Those prophets will be consumed by sword and famine.
16The people to whom they prophesy will be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. They will have no one to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, or their daughters, for I will pour their wickedness on them.
17“You shall say this word to them: “‘Let my 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 wound.
18If I go out into the field, then behold, the slain with the sword! If I enter into the city, then behold, those who are sick with famine! For both the prophet and the priest go about in the land, and have no knowledge.’”
Plea for Mercy
19Have you utterly rejected Judah? Has your soul loathed Zion? Why have you struck us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold, dismay!
20We acknowledge, LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against you.
21Do not abhor us, for your name’s sake. Do not disgrace the throne of your glory. Remember, and don’t break your covenant with us.
22Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the sky give showers? Aren’t you he, the LORD our God? Therefore we will wait for you; for you have made all these things.
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Theme
Jeremiah 14 presents a devastating drought as God's judgment upon Judah, with vivid imagery of empty cisterns, dying animals, and desperate people. The prophet intercedes for his people, but God rejects their prayers and sacrifices, commanding Jeremiah not to pray for them. The chapter condemns false prophets who promise peace while God declares coming judgment through sword, famine, and pestilence, culminating in Jeremiah's anguished lament over the nation's suffering.
Context
This chapter follows Jeremiah 13's warnings of exile and precedes chapter 15's continued theme of divine rejection, marking a turning point where intercession becomes futile.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-6 The Devastating Drought Vivid description of the severe drought affecting all levels of society and nature itself.
- 7-9 Jeremiah's Intercession The prophet pleads with God on behalf of the people, acknowledging their sins while appealing to God's covenant relationship.
- 10-12 God's Rejection of Prayer The Lord refuses to accept the people's repentance and forbids Jeremiah from interceding for them.
- 13-16 Condemnation of False Prophets God denounces the lying prophets who promise peace and declares both they and their followers will perish.
- 17-22 Lament and Final Plea Jeremiah weeps over the coming destruction and makes one last appeal to God's covenant faithfulness.
The Great Drought
14:1–14:6 prophecy narration mournful
A severe drought afflicts the land as divine judgment, causing widespread mourning and desperation as both people and animals suffer from lack of water and vegetation.
person_contrast
Jeremiah, typically God's mouthpiece for judgment, here becomes the conduit for describing collective suffering, reversing his usual role from prosecutor to witness of divine consequence.
Prayer and Divine Response
14:7–14:12 prophecy prayer anguished
The people confess their sins and plead for God's mercy, but God responds by rejecting their prayers and declaring judgment through sword, famine, and pestilence.
theme_rarity
God's stark rejection of Israel's prayer despite their confession creates one of Scripture's most jarring reversals, where acknowledged sin paradoxically disqualifies rather than enables divine mercy.
False Prophets and Their Fate
14:13–14:18 prophecy speech wrathful
God condemns false prophets who speak lies in His name, declaring that both they and those who follow them will perish by sword and famine.
person_contrast
Jeremiah's protest "Ah, Lord GOD!" uniquely positions him as both accuser of false prophets and defender of deceived people, creating rare prophetic empathy.
Plea for Mercy
14:19–14:22 prophecy prayer hopeful
A plea for God's mercy acknowledging sin and appealing to His covenant faithfulness and sovereignty over creation.
theme_rarity
Jeremiah uniquely pairs "healing" with covenant language, creating one of only two biblical passages where physical restoration and divine faithfulness intertwine as inseparable theological concepts.
Insights
God's stark rejection of Israel's prayer despite their confession creates one of Scripture's most jarring reversals, where acknowledged sin paradoxically disqualifies rather than enables divine mercy.
Jeremiah's protest "Ah, Lord GOD!" uniquely positions him as both accuser of false prophets and defender of deceived people, creating rare prophetic empathy.
Jeremiah uniquely pairs "healing" with covenant language, creating one of only two biblical passages where physical restoration and divine faithfulness intertwine as inseparable theological concepts.
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Jeremiah 14:6 1 reference
Jeremiah 14:7 1 reference
Jeremiah 14:8 3 references
Lexicals 3
Nehemiah 9:27 Lexical
Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them. In the time of their trouble, when…
Jeremiah 30:7 Lexical
Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it! It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he will be saved out o…
Judges 10:14 Lexical
Go and cry to the gods which you have chosen. Let them save you in the time of your distress!”
Jeremiah 14:9 1 reference
Jeremiah 14:10 3 references
Lexicals 3
Hosea 8:13 Lexical
As for the sacrifices of my offerings, they sacrifice meat and eat it, but the LORD doesn’t accept them. Now he will rem…
Hosea 9:9 Lexical
They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity. He will punish them fo…
Isaiah 40:2 Lexical
“Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and call out to her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, th…
Jeremiah 14:12 5 references
Lexicals 5
Ezekiel 6:12 Lexical
He who is far off will die of the pestilence. He who is near will fall by the sword. He who remains and is besieged will…
Ezekiel 5:12 Lexical
A third part of you will die with the pestilence, and they will be consumed with famine within you. A third part will fa…
Ezekiel 7:15 Lexical
“‘The sword is outside, and the pestilence and the famine within. He who is in the field will die by the sword. He who i…
Ezekiel 5:17 Lexical
I will send on you famine and evil animals, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood will pass through you. I wil…
Jeremiah 29:18 Lexical
I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be tossed ba…
Jeremiah 14:13 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 4:10 Lexical
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace;’ w…
Ezekiel 14:21 Lexical
For the Lord GOD says: “How much more when I send my four severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword, the famine, the evil…
Ezekiel 6:11 Lexical
“The Lord GOD says: ‘Strike with your hand, and stamp with your foot, and say, “Alas!”, because of all the evil abominat…
Ezekiel 13:16 Lexical
to wit, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her, and there is no…
Judges 6:22 Lexical
Gideon saw that he was the LORD’s angel; and Gideon said, “Alas, Lord GOD! Because I have seen the LORD’s angel face to…
Jeremiah 14:14 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 23:16 Lexical
The LORD of Armies says, “Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They teach you vanity. They spe…
Ezekiel 13:16 Lexical
to wit, the prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her, and there is no…
Jeremiah 27:14 Lexical
Don’t listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon;’ for they…
Jeremiah 27:16 Lexical
Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, the LORD says, “Don’t listen to the words of your prophets w…
Jeremiah 27:15 Lexical
For I have not sent them,” says the LORD, “but they prophesy falsely in my name; that I may drive you out, and that you…
Jeremiah 14:15 5 references
Lexicals 5
Jeremiah 24:10 Lexical
I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, until they are consumed from off the land that I gave…
Jeremiah 27:8 Lexical
“‘“‘It will happen that I will punish the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Ba…
Jeremiah 44:12 Lexical
I will take the remnant of Judah that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to live there, and they will all…
Jeremiah 44:18 Lexical
But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of the sky, and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked all…
Jeremiah 44:27 Lexical
Behold, I watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will be cons…
Jeremiah 14:16 3 references
Lexicals 3
Lamentations 2:19 Lexical
Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches! Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord…
Jeremiah 16:4 Lexical
“They will die grievous deaths. They will not be lamented, neither will they be buried. They will be as dung on the surf…
Ezekiel 7:15 Lexical
“‘The sword is outside, and the pestilence and the famine within. He who is in the field will die by the sword. He who i…
Jeremiah 14:17 5 references
Lexicals 5
Lamentations 2:18 Lexical
Their heart cried to the Lord. O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night. Give yours…
Jeremiah 10:19 Lexical
Woe is me because of my injury! My wound is serious; but I said, “Truly this is my grief, and I must bear it.”
Jeremiah 30:12 Lexical
For the LORD says, “Your hurt is incurable. Your wound is grievous.
Nahum 3:19 Lexical
There is no healing your wound, for your injury is fatal. All who hear the report of you clap their hands over you, for…
2 Chronicles 22:6 Lexical
He returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king…
Jeremiah 14:18 2 references
Lexicals 2
Jeremiah 14:19 1 reference
Jeremiah 14:21 2 references
Lexicals 2
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