Background
The chapter opens with its own title: this is “the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth,” that is, a drought. No king or year is named, so the chapter can be placed only by its neighbors; the Bible Dictionary puts chapters 7–20 in the reign of Jehoiakim (608–597 B.C.).
What follows is a conversation in four parts. A description of the drought (verses 2–6) is followed by a prayer in the people's voice (verses 7–9). The Lord answers it (verses 10–16), though the prophet pleads once more in verse 13; then come the prophet's tears (verses 17–18) and a second prayer (verses 19–22). The Church's chapter heading puts the point plainly: “Jeremiah prays because of dearth and famine—The Lord will not hear because of the wickedness of His people.”
Chapters 14 and 15 belong together as “a discussion between Jeremiah and the Lord concerning a great drought,” and the Lord's refusal here carries into the next chapter. Jeremiah was “the leading prophet in Jerusalem,” serving in the same years as Lehi, and verses 13–15 show the kind of prophets he was contending with.
The thread through the chapter
Jeremiah 14 asks what a prophet can do when the people want rain but not repentance. A drought is the occasion, but the chapter is not about weather. Judah prays, confesses, and fasts; the Lord says He will not hear. The reason is in verse 10: “Thus have they loved to wander.” The prayer is real, but the wandering has not stopped, and the false prophets are telling them that nothing needs to change (verse 13).
The prophet stands between the two. He prays for the people he has been told not to pray for, argues their case, and when argument is refused he weeps (verse 17). The last words belong to the people's prayer, and they are the only grounds left: the Lord's name, His throne, His covenant, and the plain fact that no idol makes rain, and “thou hast made all these things” (verses 21–22). The chapter does not say whether that prayer is heard. It leaves the answer to chapter 15.
Tap any highlighted phrase to open a note beneath its versein the margin.
The drought
This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah about the drought. Judah mourns and its city gates droop; the people sit in grief on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up. The nobles send their servants for water, but the cisterns are dry and they come back with empty jars, ashamed, with their heads covered. The ground is cracked, with no rain, and the farmers cover their heads. Even the doe leaves her newborn fawn in the field, because there is no grass. Wild donkeys stand on the bare hilltops and gasp for air like jackals, and their eyes fail for lack of green plants.
1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.
2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.
4 Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.
5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass.
6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.
The people's prayer
“Lord, though our sins testify against us, act for the sake of your name. Our turnings away are many, and we have sinned against you. You are the hope of Israel and its savior in time of trouble. Why are you like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who stops only for the night? Why are you like a man stunned, like a warrior who cannot save? Yet you are among us, Lord, and we are called by your name. Do not leave us.”
7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.
The Lord refuses
The Lord says of this people: “They have loved to wander and have not held back their feet, so the Lord does not accept them. He will now remember their guilt and punish their sins.” He tells Jeremiah, “Do not pray for the good of this people. When they fast, I will not listen to their cry. When they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. I will finish them off with sword, famine, and plague.”
10 Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
11 Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
The prophets who promise peace
Jeremiah answers, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see sword or famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’” The Lord says, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them or command them or speak to them. They prophesy a false vision, empty divination, and the deceit of their own minds. So these prophets, who say there will be no sword or famine, will die by sword and famine. And the people they prophesy to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem, with no one to bury them or their wives, sons, or daughters. I will pour out their own wickedness on them.”
13 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.
14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
15 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
The prophet's tears
“Say this to them: Let my eyes overflow with tears day and night without stopping, for the virgin daughter of my people has been crushed with a great wound, a terrible blow. If I go out into the fields, I see those killed by the sword. If I go into the city, I see those sick from famine. Even prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.”
17 Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.
18 If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.
The prayer that ends the chapter
“Have you completely rejected Judah? Do you despise Zion? Why have you struck us so that we cannot be healed? We hoped for peace and nothing good came; we hoped for a time of healing and there was terror. Lord, we acknowledge our wickedness and the guilt of our fathers; we have sinned against you. For the sake of your name do not despise us, do not disgrace your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us and do not break it. Can any of the worthless gods of the nations bring rain? Can the skies send showers by themselves? Is it not you, Lord our God? We put our hope in you, for you made all these things.”
19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!
20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
21 Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.
Seeing Christ in Jeremiah 14
The prayer of this chapter is addressed to Jehovah, who is “the premortal Jesus Christ.” He is called “the hope of Israel” and the people's “saviour… in time of trouble” (verse 8), the one who “hast made all these things” (verse 22), and the Church edition links that last line to His own statements in 3 Ne. 9:15 and D&C 14:9. The chapter says only that the prayer is made; the Lord's answer comes in chapter 15.
Worth exploring next
- Chapter 15 continues the Lord's refusal: “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me” (Jer. 15:1).
- The same command not to pray: Jer. 7:16 and Jer. 11:14.
- False prophets, the subject of chapters 26–29: Jer. 28. The test of a prophet is in Deut. 18:20–22.
- Pleading prophets, set beside Jeremiah: Moses (Ex. 32:31–32) and Mormon (Morm. 2:10–14).
This chapter elsewhere in scripture
- Mosiah 11:24–25 — Abinadi, speaking the Lord’s words to King Noah’s people, says the Lord will not hear their prayers unless they repent; the Church edition links it to verse 12.
- 3 Ne. 9:15 — The risen Lord says He created the heavens and the earth; the Church edition links it to verse 22.
Sources & further reading
- “Jeremiah”, Bible Dictionary.
- “Jehovah”, Bible Dictionary.
- Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.
- Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Jeremiah, Trans. David Patrick and James Kennedy. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1874–1880; in Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, online at Bible Hub.
- The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Chapter 23: As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap (Jeremiah 1–19), Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi (2003).