Jer 14, Jer 29 | 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 29

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles

1 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to ^awthe surviving elders of the exiles, and to ^axthe priests, ^aythe prophets, and ^azall the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after ^baKing Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of ^bbShaphan and Gemariah the son of ^bcHilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: 4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 ^bdBuild houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^bepray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^bfDo not let your prophets and ^bgyour diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, ^{▼▼Hebrew your dreams, which you cause to dream} 9 for ^biit is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; ^bjI did not send them, declares the Lord.

10 “For thus says the Lord: ^bkWhen seventy years are completed for Babylon, ^blI will visit you, ^bmand I will fulfill to you my promise ^bnand bring you back to this place. 11 ^boFor I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare ^{▼▼Or peace} and not for evil, ^bqto give you a future and a hope. 12 ^brThen you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ^bsand I will hear you. 13 ^btYou will seek me and find me, when you seek me ^buwith all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, ^bvand I will restore your fortunes and ^bwgather you from all the nations and all the places ^bxwhere I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

15 “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’ 16 thus says the Lord concerning ^bythe king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: 17 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them ^bzsword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like ^cavile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with ^cbsword, famine, and pestilence, ^ccand will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, ^cdto be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations ^cewhere I have driven them, 19 because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, ^cfthat I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’ 20 Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles ^cgwhom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, ^chwho are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. 22 ^ciBecause of them ^cjthis curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, ^ckwhom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” 23 because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, ^clthey have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and ^cmthey have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. ^cnI am the one who knows, ^coand I am witness, declares the Lord.’”

Shemaiah’s False Prophecy

24 To ^cpShemaiah of Nehelam you shall say: 25 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^cqZephaniah the son of ^crMaaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 ‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have ^cscharge in the house of the Lord ^ctover every madman who prophesies, to put him in ^cuthe stocks and neck irons. 27 Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah ^cvof Anathoth who is prophesying to you? 28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; ^cwbuild houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’”

29 ^cxZephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 ^cyThen the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31 “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning ^czShemaiah of Nehelam: Because ^daShemaiah had prophesied to you ^dbwhen I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, 32 therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish ^dcShemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, ^ddand he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, ^defor he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’”