In common usage the jeremiad is typically used to describe speech or writing that is lengthy, cautionary and critical; it speaks truth to power in the service of reclaiming the community’s fundamental goodness and promise.
In the Bible, Jeremiah spoke out in protest of the Israelites’ falling-away from the covenant they had sworn with God at Sinai, and called the people to repentance for their sins lest God send further misfortunes on them. Jeremiah, and others in the prophetic tradition, generally did three things: 1) lamented the community’s present state (its neglect of widows, orphans, and the poor; its chasing after false gods); 2) hearkened back to a time of faithfulness, when the community upheld its covenant and walked with God; and 3) called for reform, repentance, and reformation in order to regain God’s promised blessing. Much was expected of a chosen nation, and the prophet’s role was to insist that the community mend its ways, ask God’s forgiveness, and reclaim its original promise.