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Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, Chapter 14:

Some six hundred years prior to Jeremiah, God told His people that if they turned from Him, they would experience drought in the land (Deut 11:17, 28:22). That drought is now here, impacting the people, crops, and herds. The people cry to God in repentance, but He knows they have made no effort to even try to avoid sin. False prophets are preaching that no harm will come to the nation, but God makes it clear those prophets lie and will suffer famine and the sword themselves. Jeremiah is to preach words that reveal God’s pain at this situation, yet the events are the consequences for people’s breaking the covenant. We see Jeremiah and/or the people crying out to God in the face of disaster and waiting to learn God’s response.

The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, Chapter 14:

The Great Drought

1 The word of the Lord
which came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2 “Judah mourns and her gates languish;
her people lament on the ground,
and the 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 ashamed and confounded
and cover their heads.
4 Because of the ground which is dismayed,
since there is no rain on the land,
the farmers are ashamed, they cover their heads.
5 Even the deer in the field
forsakes her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
6 The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights,
they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail
because there is no herbage.
7 “Though our iniquities testify against us,
act, O Lord, for your name’s sake;
for our backslidings are many, we have sinned against you.
8 O you hope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a
stranger in the land, like a wayfarer who turns
aside to linger for a night?
9 Why should you be like a man confused,
like a mighty man who cannot save?
Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,
and we are called by your name;
leave us not.”
10 Thus says the Lord
concerning this people: “They have loved to wander
thus,
they have not restrained their feet;
therefore the Lord does not accept them,
now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.”
11 The Lord said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and cereal offering, I will not accept them; but I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

Denunciation of Lying Prophets; and a Prayer for Mercy

13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say 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 prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come on this land’: By 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, with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their wickedness upon them.
17 “You shall say to them this word:
‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of
my people is struck down with a great wound,
with a very grievous blow.
18 If I go out into the field,
behold, those slain by the sword!
And if I enter the city, behold, the diseases of famine!
For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land,
and have no knowledge.’ ”
19 Have you utterly rejected Judah?
Does your soul loathe Zion? Why have you struck us down so that there is no healing for us?
We looked for peace, but no good came;
for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
and the iniquity of our fathers,
for we have sinned against you.
21 Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne; remember and do not
break your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you, for you do all these things.

*Daily Lectio Divina Question:

With Judah offering up dishonest prayers (v. 10), the LORD tests their resolve and genuineness by not answering their prayers. LORD, what do I do when you don't seem to answer my prayers?

Biblical Commentary provided by the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan, an adult faith formation apostolate. cbsmich.org/join

Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
Permission to use the RSV-2CE given for Bishop's Year of the Bible by Ignatius Press. Many thanks to Ignatius for this.
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