Jeremiah 16

1 Then the LORD’s word came to me, saying,

The word of Jehovah came to me, saying:

2 “You shall not take a wife, neither shall you have sons or daughters, in this place.”

Take thee not a wife; Have no sons or daughters in this place!

3 For the LORD says concerning the sons and concerning the daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and concerning their fathers who became their father in this land:

For thus saith Jehovah concerning the sons and the daughters That are born in this place, And concerning their mothers that bore them, And concerning their fathers that begat them in this land;

4 “They will die grievous deaths. They will not be lamented, neither will they be buried. They will be as dung on the surface of the ground. They will be consumed by the sword and by famine. Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”

By deadly diseases shall they die; They shall not be lamented nor buried; They shall become dung upon the face of the earth; By the sword also and by famine shall they be consumed, And their carcasses shall be food for the birds of heaven And the beasts of the earth.

5 For the LORD says, “Do not enter into the house of mourning. Do not go to lament. Do not bemoan them, for I have taken away my peace from this people,” says the LORD, “even loving kindness and tender mercies.

For thus saith Jehovah: Enter not into the house of wailing; Go not to lament; Comfort them not! For I have taken away my peace from this people, saith Jehovah, My kindness and mercy.

6 Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried. Men will not lament for them, cut themselves, or make themselves bald for them.

The great and the small in this land shall die; They shall not be buried nor lamented; No one shall cut himself for them, Nor shall any one make himself bald for them.

7 Men will not break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead. Men will not give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.

Men shall not break bread for them in their grief, To comfort them for the dead, Nor give them the cup of consolation to drink, On account of a lost father or mother.

8 “You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and to drink.”

Neither enter thou into the house of feasting, To sit down with them to eat and to drink!

9 For the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am about to cause to cease from this place, Before your eyes, in your days, The voice of joy and the voice of mirth, The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

10 It will happen, when you tell this people all these words, and they ask you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us?’ or ‘What is our iniquity?’ or ‘What is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’

And when thou shalt have declared to this people all these things, and they shall say to thee, “Why hath Jehovah pronounced against us all this great evil? What is our iniquity, and what our sin, which we have committed against Jehovah our God?”

11 then you shall tell them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me,’ says the LORD, ‘and have walked after other gods, have served them, have worshiped them, have forsaken me, and have not kept my law.

Then shalt thou say to them: Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith Jehovah, And have walked after strange gods, And have served them and worshipped them, And have forsaken me, and not kept my law.

12 You have done evil more than your fathers, for behold, you each walk after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that you do not listen to me.

And ye yourselves have done worse than your fathers; For, behold, ye walk every one after the perverseness of his evil heart, And do not hearken to me.

13 Therefore I will cast you out of this land into the land that you have not known, neither you nor your fathers. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’

Therefore will I cast you forth from this land Into a land unknown to you and to your fathers; And there shall ye serve strange gods day and night; For I will show you no favor.

14 “Therefore behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that it will no more be said, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;’

Yet behold the days shall come, saith Jehovah, When men shall no more say, “As Jehovah liveth Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,”

15 but, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had driven them.’ I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers.

But, “As Jehovah liveth Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the North, And from all the lands whither he had driven them.” For I will bring them again into their own land, Which I gave to their fathers.

16 “Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says the LORD, “and they will fish them up. Afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain, from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.

Behold, I will send many fishers, saith Jehovah, who shall fish them, And then will I send many hunters who shall hunt them From every mountain, and from every hill, and from the holes of the rocks.

17 For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from my face. Their iniquity is not concealed from my eyes.

For mine eyes are upon all their ways; They are not concealed from my view, Nor is their iniquity hidden from mine eyes.

18 First I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable things, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”

And I will requite their former and their repeated iniquities and sins, Because they have polluted my land with carcasses offered to their idols, And filled my inheritance with their abominable things.

19 LORD, my strength, my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and will say, “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vanity and things in which there is no profit.

O Jehovah, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of distress! To thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, And shall say, “Truly our fathers inherited delusion, Vain and unprofitable things.

20 Should a man make to himself gods which yet are no gods?”

Shall one make for himself gods Which are no gods?”

21 “Therefore behold, I will cause them to know, this once I will cause them to know my hand and my might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD.”

Therefore, behold, I will this time cause them to feel, I will cause them to feel my hand and my might, And they shall know that my name is Jehovah.