14
1 The Davar Hashem that came to Yirmeyah concerning the batzorot (droughts).
2 Yehudah mourneth,
and the she'arim (gates),* thereof languish;
they mourn for the land;
and the cry of Yerushalayim is gone up.
3 And their noble s have sent their servants for mayim;
they came to the cisterns, and found no mayim;
they returned with their vessels empty;
they were ashamed and dismayed,
and covered their rosh.
4 Because the adamah is cracked,
for there was no geshem in the earth,
the ikkarim (plowmen) were ashamed,
they covered their rosh.
5 Indeed, the deer also calved in the sadeh, and forsook it,
because there was no desheh (grass).
6 And the pera'im (wild donkeys) did stand on the bare heights,
they pant for ruach like jackals;
their eyes did fail,
because there was no esev (grass).
7 Hashem, though avoneinu (our iniquities) testify against us,
do Thou it l'ama'an (for the sake of) Shemecha (Thy Name);
for meshuvoteinu (our backslidings) are great;
we have sinned against Thee.
8 O Mikveh Yisroel,
the Moshi'a thereof in time of tzoros,
why shouldest Thou be as a ger (stranger) in HaAretz,
and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why shouldest Thou be as an ish astonished,
as a gibbor that cannot save?
Yet Thou, Hashem, art in the midst of us,
and we are called by Thy Shem;
forsake us not.
10 Thus saith Hashem unto this people:
Thus have they loved to wander,
they have not restrained their raglayim,
therefore Hashem doth not accept them;
He will now remember their avon (iniquity),
and visit their sins.
11 Then said Hashem unto me, Pray not for HaAm Hazeh for their tovah (well-being). 12 When they undergo a tzom, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer olah (burnt offering) and minchah (grain offering), I will not accept them; but I will consume them by the cherev, and by the ra'av (famine), and by dever (pestilence).
13 Then said I, Ah, Adonoi Hashem! Hinei, the nevi'im say unto them, Ye shall not see the cherev, neither shall ye have ra'av (famine); but I will give you shalom emes in this makom. 14 Then Hashem said unto me, The nevi'im prophesy sheker in My Shem; I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spoke unto them; they prophesy unto you a chazon sheker (false vision) and kesem (divination, pagan fortunetelling), and a worthless thing, and the delusion of their lev. 15 Therefore thus saith Hashem concerning the nevi'im that prophesy in My Shem, and I sent them not, yet they say, Cherev and ra'av (famine) shall not be in HaAretz Hazot; By cherev and ra'av (famine) shall those nevi'im be consumed. 16 And HaAm to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Yerushalayim because of the ra'av (famine) and the cherev; and they shall have none to bury them — them, their nashim, nor their banim, nor their banot; for I will pour out their ra'ah (wickedness, disaster) upon them.
17 Therefore thou shalt say this davar unto them:
Let mine eyes run down with tears
lailah and yomam, and let them not cease:
for the Betulat Bat Ami is broken
with a shever gadol (great calamity),
with a severe wound.
18 If I go forth into the sadeh,
then hinei! The slain with the cherev!
And if I enter into the Ir,
then hinei them that are ravaged with ra'av (famine)!
Indeed, both the navi and the kohen
go roaming to a land that they know not.
19 Hast Thou utterly rejected Yehudah?
Hath Thy nefesh loathed Tziyon?
Why hast Thou afflicted us,
and there is no healing for us?
We hoped for shalom, and there is no tov;
and for the time of healing, and hinei terror!
20 We acknowledge, Hashem, our wickedness,
and the avon Avoteinu;
for we have sinned against Thee.
21 Do not abhor us, for the sake of Shimecha,
do not disgrace the Kisse Kevodecha (throne of Thy glory);
remember, annul not Thy Brit with us.
22 Are there any among the havalim (vanities, false g-ds) of the Goyim that can cause geshem?
Or can HaShomayim give showers?
Art not Thou He, Hashem Eloheinu?
Therefore we will hope in and wait upon Thee;
for Thou hast made all these things.
* 14:2 i.e., towns