Jeremiah 16

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

The word of the LORD came also to me, saying,

2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have thee sons and daughters in this place.

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

3 For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and daughters, that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bore them: and concerning their fathers, of whom they were born in this land:

For thus says the LORD 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:

4 They shall die by the death of grievous illnesses: they shall not be lamented, and they shall not be buried, they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed with the sword, and with famine: and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of the air, and for the beasts of the earth.

They shall die grievous deaths: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung on the surface of the ground; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth.

5 For thus saith the Lord: Enter not into the house of feasting, neither go thou to mourn, nor to comfort them: because I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the Lord, my mercy and commiserations.

For thus says the LORD, 'Do not enter into the house of mourning, neither go to lament, neither bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the LORD, even loving kindness and tender mercies.

6 Both the great and the little shall die in the land: they shall not be buried nor lamented, and men shall not cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.

Both great and small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them;

7 And they shall not break bread among them to him that mourneth, to comfort him for the dead: neither shall they give them to drink of the cup, to comfort them for their father and mother.

neither shall men break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.

8 And do not thou go into the house of feasting, to sit with them, and to eat and drink.

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

9 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold I will take away out of this place in your sight, 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 says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Look, 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.

10 And when thou shalt tell this people all these words, and they shall say to thee: Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced against us all this great evil? what is our iniquity? and what is our sin, that we have sinned against the Lord our God?

It shall happen, when you shall show this people all these words, and they shall tell 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?'

11 Thou shalt say to them: Because your fathers forsook me, saith the Lord: and went after strange gods, and served them, and adored them: and they forsook me, and kept not my law.

Then you shall tell them, 'Because your fathers have forsaken me, says the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;

12 And you also have done worse than your fathers: for behold every one of you walketh after the perverseness of his evil heart, so as not to hearken to me.

and you have done evil more than your fathers; for, look, you walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that you do not listen to me:

13 So I will cast you forth out of this land, into a land which you know not, nor you fathers: and there you shall serve strange gods day and night, which shall not give you any rest.

therefore I will cast you forth out of this land into the land that you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor.'

14 Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, when it shall be said no more: The Lord liveth, that brought for the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt:

Therefore look, the days come," says the LORD, "that it shall no more be said, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;'

15 But, the Lord liveth, that brought the children of Israel out of the land of the north, and out of all the lands to which I cast them out: and I will bring them again into their land, which I gave to their fathers.

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.

16 Behold I will send many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them: and after this I will send them many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

Look, I will send for many fishermen," says the LORD, "and they shall fish them up; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.

17 For my eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, and their iniquity hath not been hid from my eyes.

For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from my face, neither is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.

18 And I will repay first their double iniquities, and their sins: because they have defiled my land with the carcasses of their idols, and they have filled my inheritance with their abominations.

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."

19 O Lord, my might, and my strength, and my refuge in the day of tribulation: to thee the Gentiles shall come from the ends of the earth, and shall say: Surely our fathers have possessed lies, a vanity which hath not profited them.

"LORD, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, to you shall the nations come from the farthest parts of the earth, and shall say, 'Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vanity and things in which there is no profit.

20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and there are no gods?

Shall a man make to himself gods, which yet are no gods?'"

21 Therefore, behold I will this once cause them to know, I will shew them my hand and my power: and they shall know that my name is the Lord.

"Therefore look, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is the LORD.