Jeremiah 14:10-12

Contemporary English Version

The Lord's Answer

¹⁰My 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

¹¹The Lord said, “Jeremiah, don't ask me to help these people. ¹²They may even go without eating^[a] and offer sacrifices to please me^[b] and to give thanks.^[c] 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.”

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Footnotes

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.”