1. This is the Lord’S message to Jeremiah about the drought:
2. “The nation of Judah cries for people who have died. The people in the cities of Judah grow weaker and weaker. They lie on the ground. People in Jerusalem, cry to God for help.
3. The leaders of the people send their servants to get water. The servants go to the water storage places, but they don’t find any water. The servants come back with empty jars, so they are ashamed and embarrassed. They cover their heads from shame.
4. No one prepares the ground for crops. No rain falls on the land. The farmers are depressed. So they cover their heads from shame.
5. Even the mother deer in the field leaves her newborn baby alone, because there is no grass.
6. Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills. They sniff the wind like jackals. But their eyes cannot find any food, because there are no plants to eat.
7. “We know that this is our fault. We are now suffering because of our sins. Lord, do something to help us for the good of your name. We admit that we have left you many times. We have sinned against you.
8. God, you are the hope of Israel! You save Israel in times of trouble. But now it seems like you are a stranger in the land, like a traveler who only stays one night.
9. You seem like a man who has been attacked by surprise, like a soldier who does not have the power to save anyone. But, Lord, you are with us. We are called by your name, so don’t leave us without help!”
10. This is what the Lord says about the people of Judah: “The people of Judah really love to leave me. They don’t stop themselves from leaving me. So now the Lord will not accept them. Now he will remember the evil they do. He will punish them for their sins.”
11. Then the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, don’t pray for good things to happen to the people of Judah.