Jeremiah 16
New Living Translation
Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry
16 The Lord gave me another message. He said, 2 “Do not get married or have children in this place. 3 For this is what the Lord says about the children born here in this city and about their mothers and fathers: 4 They will die from terrible diseases. No one will mourn for them or bury them, and they will lie scattered on the ground like manure. They will die from war and famine, and their bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals.”
Judah’s Coming Punishment
5 This is what the Lord says: “Do not go to funerals to mourn and show sympathy for these people, for I have removed my protection and peace from them. I have taken away my unfailing love and my mercy. 6 Both the great and the lowly will die in this land. No one will bury them or mourn for them. Their friends will not cut themselves in sorrow or shave their heads in sadness. 7 No one will offer a meal to comfort those who mourn for the dead—not even at the death of a mother or father. No one will send a cup of wine to console them.
8 “And do not go to their feasts and parties. Do not eat and drink with them at all. 9 For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: In your own lifetime, before your very eyes, I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in this land. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard.
10 “When you tell the people all these things, they will ask, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such terrible things against us? What have we done to deserve such treatment? What is our sin against the Lord our God?’
11 “Then you will give them the Lord’s reply: ‘It is because your ancestors were unfaithful to me. They worshiped other gods and served them. They abandoned me and did not obey my word. 12 And you are even worse than your ancestors! You stubbornly follow your own evil desires and refuse to listen to me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land and send you into a foreign land where you and your ancestors have never been. There you can worship idols day and night—and I will grant you no favors!’
Hope despite the Disaster
14 “But the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when people who are taking an oath will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’ 15 Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ For I will bring them back to this land that I gave their ancestors.
16 “But now I am sending for many fishermen who will catch them,” says the Lord. “I am sending for hunters who will hunt them down in the mountains, hills, and caves. 17 I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me. 18 I will double their punishment for all their sins, because they have defiled my land with lifeless images of their detestable gods and have filled my territory with their evil deeds.”
Jeremiah’s Prayer of Confidence
19 Lord, you are my strength and fortress,
my refuge in the day of trouble!
Nations from around the world
will come to you and say,
“Our ancestors left us a foolish heritage,
for they worshiped worthless idols.
20 Can people make their own gods?
These are not real gods at all!”
21 The Lord says,
“Now I will show them my power;
now I will show them my might.
At last they will know and understand
that I am the Lord.
Jeremiah 16
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Withdraws His Favor
16 The word of Yahweh also came to me saying, 2 “You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For thus says Yahweh concerning the sons and daughters born in this place and concerning their (A)mothers who bear them and their (B)fathers who beget them in this land: 4 “They will (C)die of deadly diseases; they (D)will not be lamented or buried; they will be as (E)dung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their carcasses will become food for the (F)birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth.”
5 For thus says Yahweh, “Do not enter the house of the (G)funeral meal, or go to lament or to console them; for I have (H)withdrawn My peace from this people,” declares Yahweh, “My (I)lovingkindness and compassion. 6 Both (J)great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried; they will not be lamented, nor will anyone (K)gash himself or (L)shave his head for them. 7 Men will not (M)break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of comforting to drink for anyone’s father or mother. 8 Moreover you shall (N)not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.” 9 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I am going to (O)cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.
10 “Now when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘(P)For what reason has Yahweh declared all this great calamity against us? And what is our iniquity, or what is our sin which we have committed against Yahweh our God?’ 11 Then you are to say to them, ‘It is (Q)because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and have walked after (R)other gods and served them and worshiped them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law. 12 You too have done evil, even (S)more than your fathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the (T)stubbornness of his own (U)evil heart, without listening to Me. 13 So I will (V)hurl you out of this land into the (W)land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will (X)serve other gods day and night, for I will grant you no favor.’
They Shall Know My Name Is Yahweh
14 “(Y)Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As Yahweh lives, who (Z)brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘As Yahweh lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the (AA)land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ For I will return them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.
16 “Behold, I am going to send for many (AB)fishermen,” declares Yahweh, “and they will fish for them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they will (AC)hunt them (AD)from every mountain and every hill and from the crevices of the rocks. 17 (AE)For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, (AF)nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes. 18 I will first (AG)doubly repay their iniquity and their sin because they have (AH)profaned My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their (AI)detestable idols and with their abominations.”
19 O Yahweh, my (AJ)strength and my strong defense,
And my (AK)refuge in the day of distress,
To You the (AL)nations will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but (AM)lies,
Futility and [a](AN)things of no profit.”
20 Can man make gods for himself?
Yet they are (AO)not gods!
21 “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—
This time I will (AP)make them know
My [b]power and My might;
And they shall (AQ)know that My name is Yahweh.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 16:19 Lit there is nothing profitable in them
- Jeremiah 16:21 Lit hand
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