Jer 14, Jer 17 | ESV | STEP | The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought :

1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning ^athe drought:

2 ^b“Judah mourns,
and ^cher gates languish;
her people lament on the ground,
and ^dthe cry of Jerusalem goes up.
3 Her nobles send their servants for water;
they come to the cisterns;
they find no water;
they return with their vessels empty;
they are ^eashamed and confounded
and ^fcover their heads.
4 Because of the ground that is dismayed,
since there is ^gno rain on the land,
the farmers are ashamed;
they cover their heads.
5 Even ^hthe doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
6 ⁱThe wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;
they pant for air like jackals;
their eyes fail
because there is no vegetation.
7 “Though our iniquities testify against us,
act, O Lord, ^jfor your name’s sake;
^kfor our backslidings are many;
^lwe have sinned against you.
8 ^mO you hope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why should you be like a man confused,
ⁿlike a mighty warrior who cannot save?
Yet ^oyou, O Lord, are in the midst of us,
and ^pwe are called by your name;
^qdo not leave us.”
10 Thus says the Lord concerning this people:
“They have loved to wander thus;
they have not restrained their feet;
^rtherefore the Lord does not accept them;
^snow he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.”
11 The Lord said to me: ^t“Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, ^uand though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them ^vby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

Lying Prophets

13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets ^wsay to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” 14 And the Lord said to me: “The ^xprophets are prophesying lies in my name. ^yI did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, ^zworthless divination, and ^aathe deceit of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although ^abI did not send them, and who say, ^ac‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: ^adBy sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, ^aewith none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.

17 “You shall say to them this word:
^af‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for the virgin ^agdaughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,
^ahwith a very grievous blow.
18 ^aiIf I go out into the field,
behold, those pierced by the sword!
^ajAnd if I enter the city,
behold, the diseases of famine!
^akFor both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land
and have no knowledge.’”
19 ^alHave you utterly rejected Judah?
Does your soul loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
^amso that there is no healing for us?
^anWe looked for peace, but no good came;
^aofor a time of healing, but behold, terror.
20 ^apWe acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
and the iniquity of our fathers,
^aqfor we have sinned against you.
21 Do not spurn us, ^arfor your name’s sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
^asremember and do not break your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among ^atthe false gods of the nations ^authat can bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
^avfor you do all these things.

Jeremiah 17

The Sin of Judah

1 “The sin of Judah is written with ^awa pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on ^axthe tablet of their heart, and on ^aythe horns of their altars, 2 while ^aztheir children remember their altars and their ^baAsherim, ^bbbeside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 ^bcon the mountains in the open country. ^bdYour wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, ^beand I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, ^bffor in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”

5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man ^bgwho trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength, ^{▼▼Hebrew arm}
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 ^biHe is like a shrub in the desert,
^bjand shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in ^bkan uninhabited salt land.
7 ^bl“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
^bmwhose trust is the Lord.
8 ^bnHe is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 ^bo“I the Lord search the heart
^bpand test the mind, ^{▼▼Hebrew kidneys}
^brto give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
11 Like the ^bspartridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,
so is ^bthe who gets riches but not by justice;
^buin the midst of his days they will leave him,
^bvand at his end he will be a fool.
12 A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, ^bwthe hope of Israel,
^bxall who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you ^{▼▼Hebrew me} ^bzshall be written in the earth,
for ^cathey have forsaken ^cbthe Lord, the fountain of living water.

Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

14 ^ccHeal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for ^cdyou are my praise.
15 ^ceBehold, they say to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come!”
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd,
nor have I desired the day of sickness.
^cfYou know ^cgwhat came out of my lips;
it was before your face.
17 Be not a terror to me;
^chyou are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 ^ciLet those be put to shame who persecute me,
but let me not be put to shame;
^cjlet them be dismayed,
but let me not be dismayed;
^ckbring upon them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction!

Keep the Sabbath Holy

19 Thus said the Lord to me: “Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by which ^clthe kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, ^cmyou kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and ^cndo not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath ^coor do any work, but ^cpkeep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet ^cqthey did not listen or incline their ear, ^crbut stiffened their neck, that they ^csmight not hear and receive instruction.

24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and ^ctbring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but ^cukeep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then ^cvthere shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from ^cwthe cities of Judah ^cxand the places around Jerusalem, ^cyfrom the land of Benjamin, ^czfrom the Shephelah, from the hill country, ^daand from ^dbthe Negeb, bringing ^dcburnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and ^ddbringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to ^dekeep the Sabbath day holy, ^dfand not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will ^dgkindle a fire in its gates, and it shall ^dhdevour the palaces of Jerusalem and ^dishall not be quenched.’”