耶利米書 14
Revised Chinese Union Version (Traditional Script) Shen Edition
可怕的旱災
14 耶和華的話臨到耶利米，論到旱災的事：
2 「猶大悲哀，城門衰敗；
眾人坐在地上哀慟，
耶路撒冷的哀聲上達。
3 他們的貴族打發僮僕去打水；
他們來到水池，
找不到水，就拿着空器皿，
蒙羞慚愧，抱頭而回。
4 因為無雨降在地上，土地就乾裂，
農夫為此蒙羞抱頭。
5 田野的母鹿因為無草
也撇棄才生的小鹿。
6 野驢站在光禿的高地喘氣，好像野狗；
牠們的眼目因無草而失明。」
7 耶和華啊，雖然我們的罪孽控告我們，
求你為你名的緣故行動吧！
我們本是多次背道，得罪了你。
8 以色列所盼望，在患難時作他救主的啊，
你在這地為何像寄居的，
又如旅行的只住一夜呢？
9 你為何像受驚嚇的人，
像不能救人的勇士呢？
耶和華啊，你在我們中間，
我們是稱為你名下的人，
求你不要離開我們。
10 耶和華論到這百姓如此說：
「這百姓喜愛遊蕩，
不約束自己的腳步，
所以耶和華不悅納他們。
現今他要記起他們的罪孽，
懲罰他們的罪惡。」
11 耶和華又對我說：「不要為這百姓求福。 12 他們禁食的時候，我不聽他們的呼求；他們獻燔祭和素祭，我也不悅納。我卻要用刀劍、饑荒、瘟疫滅絕他們。」
13 我就說：「唉！主耶和華，看哪，那些先知常對他們說：『你們必不見刀劍，也不遭饑荒；耶和華要在這地方賞賜你們真正的平安。』」 14 耶和華對我說：「那些先知託我的名說假預言，我並未差遣他們，沒有吩咐他們，也沒有對他們說話；他們向你們預言的是虛假的異象、占卜、虛無，以及心中的詭詐。 15 所以耶和華如此說：『論到託我名說預言的那些先知，我並未差遣他們；他們說這地不會有刀劍、饑荒，其實那些先知自己必被刀劍、饑荒滅絕。 16 聽他們說預言的百姓必因饑荒、刀劍被扔在耶路撒冷的街道上，無人埋葬。他們連妻子帶兒女，都是如此。我必將他們的惡倒在他們身上。』」
17 你要向他們說這些話：
願我眼淚汪汪，
晝夜不息，
因為少女—我百姓[a]受了重大的打擊，
傷口極其嚴重。
18 我若出到田間，
看哪，有被刀殺的；
我若進入城內，
看哪，有因饑荒患病的；
先知和祭司也在各地往來經商，
不知如何是好。
百姓懇求耶和華憐憫
19 你全然棄絕猶大嗎？
你的心厭惡錫安嗎？
你為何擊打我們，使我們無法得醫治呢？
我們指望平安，卻得不着福氣；
指望痊癒，看哪，受了驚惶。
20 耶和華啊，我們承認自己的罪惡
和我們祖先的罪孽，
因我們得罪了你。
21 求你為你名的緣故，
不厭惡，不輕視你榮耀的寶座。
求你記念，
不要違背你與我們所立的約。
22 外邦虛無的神明[b]中有能降雨的嗎？
天能自降甘霖嗎？
耶和華—我們的 神啊，不是你嗎？
我們要等候你，
因為這一切都是你所造的。
Jeremiah 14
Contemporary English Version
The Land Dries Up
14 When there had been no rain for a long time, the Lord told me to say to the people:
2 Judah and Jerusalem weep
as the land dries up.
3 Rulers send their servants
to the storage pits for water.[a]
But there's none to be found;
they return in despair
with their jars still empty.
4 There has been no rain,
and farmers feel sick
as they watch cracks appear
in the dry ground.[b]
5 A deer gives birth in a field,
then abandons her newborn fawn
and leaves in search of grass.
6 Wild donkeys go blind
from starvation.
So they stand on barren hilltops
and sniff the air,[c]
hoping to smell green grass.
The Lord's People Pray
7 We rejected you and did evil,
so we deserve to be punished.
But if you rescue us, Lord,
everyone will see
how great you are.
8 You're our only hope;
you alone can save us now.
You help us one day,
but you're gone the next.
9 Did this disaster
take you by surprise?
Are you a warrior
with your hands tied?
You have chosen us,
and your temple is here.
Don't abandon us!
The Lord's Answer
10 My people,
you love to wander away;
you don't even try
to stay close to me.
So now I will reject you
and punish you for your sins.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
Lying Prophets
11 The Lord said, “Jeremiah, don't ask me to help these people. 12 They may even go without eating[d] and offer sacrifices to please me[e] and to give thanks.[f] But when they cry out for my help, I won't listen, and I won't accept their sacrifices. Instead, I'll send war, starvation, and disease to wipe them out.”
13 I replied, “The other prophets keep telling everyone that you won't send starvation or war, and that you're going to give us peace.”
14 The Lord answered:
They claim to speak for me, but they're lying! I didn't even speak to them, much less choose them to be my prophets. Their messages come from worthless dreams, useless fortunetelling, and their own imaginations.
15 Those lying prophets say there will be peace and plenty of food. But I say that those same prophets will die from war and hunger. 16 And everyone who listens to them will be killed, just as they deserve. Their dead bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, because their families will also be dead, and no one will be left to bury them.[g]
17 Jeremiah, go and tell the people how you feel about all this.
So I told them:
“Tears will flood my eyes
both day and night,
because my nation suffers
from a deadly wound.
18 In the fields I see the bodies
of those killed in battle.
And in the towns I see crowds
dying of hunger.
But the prophets and priests
go about their business,
without understanding
what has happened.”[h]
Jeremiah Prays to the Lord
19 Have you rejected Judah, Lord?
Do you hate Jerusalem?
Why did you strike down Judah
with a fatal wound?
We had hoped for peace
and a time of healing,
but all we got was terror.
20 We and our ancestors are guilty
of rebelling against you.
21 If you save us, it will show
how great you are.
Don't let our enemies
disgrace your temple,
your beautiful throne.
Don't forget that you promised
to rescue us.
22 Idols can't send rain,
and showers don't fall
by themselves.
Only you control the rain,
so we put our trust in you,
the Lord our God.
Footnotes
- 14.3 storage pits for water: Since water was scarce, pits were dug into solid rock for collecting and storing rainwater. These pits were called “cisterns.”
- 14.4 cracks … ground: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 14.6 sniff the air: The Hebrew text has “sniff the air, like jackals” (see the note at 9.11).
- 14.12 go without eating: The people of Israel sometimes went without eating to show sorrow for their sins.
- 14.12 sacrifices to please me: These sacrifices have traditionally been called “whole burnt offerings” because the whole animal was burned on the altar. A main purpose of such sacrifices was to please the Lord with the smell of the sacrifice, and so in the CEV they are sometimes called “sacrifices to please the Lord.”
- 14.12 sacrifices … to give thanks: These sacrifices have traditionally been called “grain offerings.” A main purpose of such sacrifices was to thank the Lord with a gift of grain, and so in the CEV they are sometimes called “sacrifices to give thanks to the Lord.”
- 14.16 dead bodies … bury them: A proper burial was considered very important.
- 14.18 go about … has happened: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
和合本修訂版經文 © 2006, 2010, 2017 香港聖經公會。蒙允許使用。 Scripture Text of Revised Chinese Union Version © 2006, 2010, 2017 Hong Kong Bible Society. www.hkbs.org.hk/en/ Used by permission.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
