1. The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah about the drought.
2. Judah mourns; its gates fall apart.The people of Judah sit in mourning on the ground.Their cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3. Important people send their assistants out for water.They go to the cisterns, but they don’t find any water.They come back with their containers empty.They cover their heads, because they are ashamed and disgraced.
4. The ground is cracked because there has been no rain in the land.The farmers are disappointed. They cover their heads.
5. Even deer in the fields give birth and abandon their youngbecause there’s no grass.
6. Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills.They sniff the air like jackals.Their eyesight fails because they have no green plants.
7. Do something, Lord, for the sake of your name,even though our sins testify against us.We have been unfaithful and have sinned against you.
8. You are Israel’s hope,the one who saves it in times of trouble.Why should you be like a stranger in the land,like a traveler who stays only one night?
9. Why should you be like someone taken by surprise,like a strong man who cannot help?You, O Lord, are among us.We are called by your name.Don’t leave us!