Jeremiah 16

1 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

2 “You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place.”

Thou dost not take to thee a wife, Nor hast thou sons and daughters in this place.

3 For this is what the LORD says concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and the mothers who bore them, and the fathers who fathered them in this land:

For thus said Jehovah, Of the sons and of the daughters who are born in this place, And of their mothers — those bearing them, And of their fathers — those begetting them in this land:

4 “They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth.”

Of painful deaths they die, They are not lamented, nor are they buried, For dung on the face of the ground they are, And by sword and by famine are consumed, And their carcase hath been for food To the fowl of the heavens, And to the beast of the earth.

5 Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal. Do not go to mourn or show sympathy, for I have removed from this people My peace, My loving devotion, and My compassion,” declares the LORD.

For thus said Jehovah: Do not enter the house of a mourning-feast, Nor go to lament nor bemoan for them, For I have removed My peace from this people, An affirmation of Jehovah, The kindness and the mercies.

6 “Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.

And died have great and small in this land, They are not buried, and none lament for them, Nor doth any cut himself, nor become bald for them.

7 No food will be offered to comfort those who mourn the dead; not even a cup of consolation will be given for the loss of a father or mother.

Nor do they deal out to them for mourning, To comfort him concerning the dead, Nor cause them to drink a cup of consolations For his father and for his mother.

8 You must not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down with them to eat and drink.

A house of banqueting thou dost not enter, To sit with them, to eat and to drink,

9 For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your days, the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom.

For thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, I am causing to cease from this place, Before your eyes, and in your days, The voice of joy, and the voice of rejoicing, The voice of bridegroom and voice of bride.

10 When you tell these people all these things, they will ask you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? What is our guilt? What is the sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’

And it hath come to pass when thou declarest to this people all these words, and they have said unto thee, 'For what hath Jehovah spoken against us all this great evil? yea, what [is] our iniquity, and what our sin, that we have sinned against Jehovah our God?'

11 Then you are to answer them: ‘It is because your fathers have forsaken Me, declares the LORD, and followed other gods, and served and worshiped them. They abandoned Me and did not keep My instruction.

Then thou hast said unto them: Because that your fathers have forsaken Me, An affirmation of Jehovah, And go after other gods, and serve them, And they bow themselves to them, And Me have forsaken, and My law not kept,

12 And you have done more evil than your fathers. See how each of you follows the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying Me.

Ye also have done evil above your fathers, And lo, ye are walking each after the stubbornness of his evil heart, So as not to hearken unto Me.

13 So I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’

And I have cast you from off this land, On to a land that ye have not known, Ye and your fathers, And ye have served there other gods by day and by night, Where I do not give to you grace.

14 Yet behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt.’

Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And it is not said any more: 'Jehovah liveth, who brought up The sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,'

15 Instead they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and all the other lands to which He had banished them.’ For I will return them to their land that I gave to their forefathers.

But, 'Jehovah liveth, who brought up The sons of Israel out of the land of the north, And out of all the lands whither He drove them,' And I have brought them back to their land, That I gave to their fathers.

16 But for now I will send for many fishermen, declares the LORD, and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill, even from the clefts of the rocks.

Lo, I am sending for many fishers, An affirmation of Jehovah, And they have fished them, And after this I send for many hunters, And they have hunted them from off every mountain, And from off every hill, and from holes of the rocks.

17 For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their guilt is not concealed from My eyes.

For Mine eyes [are] upon all their ways, They have not been hidden from My face, Nor hath their iniquity been concealed from before Mine eyes.

18 And I will first repay them double their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and they have filled My inheritance with their abominations.”

And I have recompensed a first — A second time — their iniquity and their sin, Because of their polluting My land, With the carcase of their detestable things, Yea, their abominable things have filled Mine inheritance.

19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress, the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Our fathers inherited nothing but lies, worthless idols of no benefit at all.

O Jehovah, my strength, and my fortress, And my refuge in a day of adversity, Unto Thee nations do come from the ends of earth, And say, Only falsehood did our fathers inherit, Vanity, and none among them is profitable.

20 Can man make gods for himself? Such are not gods!”

Doth man make for himself gods, And they — no gods?

21 “Therefore behold, I will inform them, and this time I will make them know My power and My might; then they will know that My name is the LORD.

Therefore, lo, I am causing them to know at this time, I cause them to know My hand and My might, And they have known that My name [is] Jehovah!