6 Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills. They sniff the wind like jackals. But their eyes cannot find any food, because there are no plants to eat.
7 “We know that this is our fault. We are now suffering because of our sins. Lord, do something to help us for the good of your name. We admit that we have left you many times. We have sinned against you.
8 God, you are the hope of Israel! You save Israel in times of trouble. But now it seems like you are a stranger in the land, like a traveler who only stays one night.
9 You seem like a man who has been attacked by surprise, like a soldier who does not have the power to save anyone. But, Lord, you are with us. We are called by your name, so don’t leave us without help!”
10 This is what the Lord says about the people of Judah: “The people of Judah really love to leave me. They don’t stop themselves from leaving me. So now the Lord will not accept them. Now he will remember the evil they do. He will punish them for their sins.”
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, don’t pray for good things to happen to the people of Judah.
12 They might begin to fast and pray to me, but I will not listen to their prayers. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. I will destroy the people of Judah with war. I will take away their food, and they will starve. And I will destroy them with terrible diseases.”