Jeremiah 14

¹ God tell me about time wey rain no go dey,

² “Judah dey mourn; hin cities dey die, hin people lie for ground in sorrow, and Jerusalem dey cry out for help.

³ Rich people send their servant water, dem go to the water tank but dem no see water and dem come back with empty container. Dem no get get mind, dem hide their face.

⁴ Because rain no dey and the ground don dry, the farmers no dey happy; dem hide their faces.

⁵ For field, mother beer dey abandon her newborn pikin because grass no dey.

⁶ The wild donkey dey stand for hilltop and dey breathe fast like fox; dem no dey see well because dem no get food.

⁷ My people cry to me say, ‘Even though our sin don accuse us, God, help us, as you don promise. We don turn away from you plenty time; we don sin against you.

⁸ Na only you be only hope for Israel; na only you wey save us from disaster. Why you con be like stranger for our land, like traveler wey just stay for one night?

⁹ Why you be like person wey dem take by surprise, like soldier wey no get power to help? God, for sure you dey with us! No abandon us, we be your people.’”

¹⁰ God talk about this people say, “Dem like to dey run away from me, and dem no go control themselves. So I no dey happy with them. I go remember the wrong wey dem don do and punish them because of their sin.”

¹¹ God tell me say, “No ask me say make I help these people.

¹² Even if them fast, I no go hear their cry for help; and even if dem offer me burnt offering and grain offering, I no go dey happy with them. Instead, I go kill them for war and I go use hunger and disease kill them.”

¹³ Then I talk say, “Almighty God, you know say the prophet dey tell the people say war or hunger no go dey, because you don promise, dem talk say, na only peace go dey our land.”

¹⁴ But God reply say, “The prophet dey use my name lie; I no send them, and I no give them any order or speak any word to them. The vision wey dem talk about no come from me, their prediction na useless things wey dem don think about.

¹⁵ I, the LORD, tell you wetin I go do to those prophet wey I no send but dem speak in my name say war and hunger no go hit this land- I go kill them for war and with hunger.

¹⁶ People wey dem don tell all these things go die the same way too. Dem go throw out their body for street of Jerusalem, and nobody go bury them. This go happen to all of them - with their wives, their son, and their daughter, I go make them pay for their wickedness.”

¹⁷ God command me make I tell the people about my sorrow and talk say: “Make tears dey flow for my eyes day and night, make I no stop to dey weep, because my people don get serious wound and dem dey hurt so bad.

¹⁸ When I commot go field, I con see body of men wey die for war, when I go town, I see people dey die of hunger. Prophet and priest dey do their work, but dem no know wetin dem dey do.”

¹⁹ God, shey you don reject Judah completely? Shey you hate people of Zion? Why you don hurt us bad so tey we no fit heal? We don look for peace, but nothing good don happen; we dey hope for healing, but instead na terror dey come.

²⁰ God, we don sin against you; we dey confess our sin and sin of our ancestor.

²¹ Remember your promise make you no hate us; no bring shame on top Jerusalem, wey be place of your glorious throne. No break the covenant wey you don make with us.

²² None of idols of the earth fit send rain; the sky no fit make shower fall on hin own. O LORD our God, we don put our hope in you, because na you dey do these things.