¹⁷ Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,^(A)
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,^(B)

¹⁷ They will devour^(A) your harvests and food,
    devour^(B) your sons and daughters;
they will devour^(C) your flocks and herds,
    devour your vines and fig trees.^(D)
With the sword^(E) they will destroy
    the fortified cities^(F) in which you trust.^(G)

¹⁶ Has not the food been cut off^(A)
    before our very eyes—
joy and gladness^(B)
    from the house of our God?^(C)
17 The seeds are shriveled
    beneath the clods.^[a](D)
The storehouses are in ruins,
    the granaries have been broken down,
    for the grain has dried up.
¹⁸ How the cattle moan!
    The herds mill about
because they have no pasture;^(E)
    even the flocks of sheep are suffering.^(F)

⁶ “I gave you empty stomachs in every city
    and lack of bread in every town,
    yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.^(A)

⁷ “I also withheld^(B) rain from you
    when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
    but withheld it from another.^(C)
One field had rain;
    another had none and dried up.
⁸ People staggered from town to town for water^(D)
    but did not get enough^(E) to drink,
    yet you have not returned^(F) to me,”
declares the Lord.^(G)

⁹ “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
    destroying them with blight and mildew.^(H)
Locusts^(I) devoured your fig and olive trees,^(J)
    yet you have not returned^(K) to me,”
declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “I sent plagues^(L) among you
    as I did to Egypt.^(M)
I killed your young men^(N) with the sword,
    along with your captured horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench^(O) of your camps,
    yet you have not returned to me,”^(P)
declares the Lord.^(Q)

¹⁰ The fields are ruined,
    the ground is dried up;^(A)
the grain is destroyed,
    the new wine^(B) is dried up,
    the olive oil fails.^(C)

¹¹ Despair, you farmers,^(D)
    wail, you vine growers;
grieve for the wheat and the barley,^(E)
    because the harvest of the field is destroyed.^(F)
12 The vine is dried up
    and the fig tree is withered;^(G)
the pomegranate,^(H) the palm and the apple^[a] tree—
    all the trees of the field—are dried up.^(I)
Surely the people’s joy
    is withered away.

² “Judah mourns,^(A)
    her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
    and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
³ The nobles send their servants for water;
    they go to the cisterns
    but find no water.^(B)
They return with their jars unfilled;
    dismayed and despairing,
    they cover their heads.^(C)
4 The ground is cracked
    because there is no rain in the land;^(D)
the farmers are dismayed
    and cover their heads.
⁵ Even the doe in the field
    deserts her newborn fawn
    because there is no grass.^(E)
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights^(F)
    and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
    for lack of food.”^(G)

⁷ Although our sins testify^(H) against us,
    do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.^(I)
For we have often rebelled;^(J)
    we have sinned^(K) against you.
⁸ You who are the hope^(L) of Israel,
    its Savior^(M) in times of distress,^(N)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
    like a traveler who stays only a night?