1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts.

2 “Judah mourns,
And ^aher gates languish;
They ^bmourn for the land,
And ^cthe cry of Jerusalem has gone up. ‡

3 Their nobles have sent their lads for water;
They went to the cisterns and found no water.
They returned with their vessels empty;
They were ^aashamed and confounded
^bAnd covered their heads. ‡

4 Because the ground is parched,
For there was ^ano rain in the land,
The plowmen were ashamed;
They covered their heads. ‡