Jeremiah 14:12-14

Contemporary English Version

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.”

¹³I replied, “The other prophets keep telling everyone that you won't send starvation or war, and that you're going to give us peace.”

¹⁴The 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.

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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.”