Jeremiah 16

1 The worde of the Lord came also vnto mee, saying,

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

2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, nor haue sonnes nor daughters in this place.

“You shall not take a wife, and there shall be no sons or daughters for you in this place.

3 For thus sayeth the Lord concerning the sonnes, and concerning the daughters that are borne in this place, and concerning their mothers that beare them, and concerning their fathers, that beget them in this land,

For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are conceived in this place, and concerning their mothers who give birth to them, and concerning their fathers, from whose stock they have been born in this land:

4 They shall die of deathes and diseases: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried, but they shalbe as dung vpon the earth, and they shalbe consumed by the sword, and by famine, and their carkeises shall be meate for the foules of the heauen, and for the beasts of the earth.

They will die from grievous mortal illnesses. They will not be mourned, and they will not be buried. They will be like manure on the face of the earth. And they will be consumed by sword and by famine. And their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the land.”

5 For thus saith the Lord, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither goe to lament, nor be moued for the: for I haue taken my peace, from this people, saith the Lord, euen mercy and compassion.

For thus says the Lord: “You shall not enter the house of feasting, and you shall not go to mourn or to console them. For I have taken away from this people, says the Lord, my peace, my mercy, and my pity.

6 Both the great, and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them nor cut themselues, nor make themselues balde for them.

Both the great and the small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and they will not be mourned. And no one will cut themselves or make themselves bald on their behalf.

7 They shall not stretch out the hands for the in the mourning to comfort them for the dead, neither shall they giue them the cup of consolation to drinke for their father or for their mother.

And they will not break bread among themselves for the sake of him who mourns, so as to console him over the dead. And they will not give them a chalice to drink, so as to console them over their father and mother.

8 Thou shalt not also goe into the house of feasting to sit with them to eate and to drinke.

And so, you shall not enter the house of feasting, so as to sit with them, and to eat and drink.”

9 For thus sayth the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Beholde, I wil cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, euen in your dayes the voyce of myrth, and the voyce of gladnes, the voyce of the bridegrome and the voyce of the bride.

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will take away from this place, in your sight and in your days, the voice of gladness and the voice of rejoicing, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.

10 And when thou shalt shewe this people all these wordes, and they shall say vnto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great plague against vs? or what is our iniquitie? and what is our sinne that we haue committed against the Lord our God?

And when you announce all these words to this people, they will say to you: ‘Why would the Lord pronounce all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity and what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’

11 Then shalt thou say vnto them, Because your fathers haue forsaken me, sayth the Lord, and haue walked after other gods, and haue serued them, and worshipped them, and haue forsaken me, and haue not kept my Law,

And you shall say to them: It is because your fathers abandoned me, says the Lord. And they went after strange gods, and they served them and adored them. And they abandoned me, and they did not keep my law.

12 (And ye haue done worse then your fathers: for beholde, you walke euery one after the stubbernesse of his wicked heart, and will not heare me)

But you have acted even worse than your fathers. For behold, each one walks after the depravity of his own evil heart, so that he does not listen to me.

13 Therefore will I driue you out of this land into a lande that ye knowe not, neither you, nor your fathers, and there shall ye serue other gods day and night: for I will shew you no grace.

And so, I will cast you out of this land, into a land that you do not know, and that your fathers did not know. And in that place, you will serve, day and night, strange gods who will not give you rest.

14 Behold therfore, saith the Lord, the dayes come that it shall no more be sayde, The Lord liueth, which brought vp the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt,

Therefore, behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who led the sons of Israel away from the land of Egypt,’

15 But the Lord liueth, that brought vp the children of Israel from the lande of the North, and from all the landes where hee had scattered them, and I wil bring them againe into their land that I gaue vnto their fathers.

but instead, ‘As the Lord lives, who led the sons of Israel away from the land of the north,’ and from all the lands to which I have cast them out. And I will lead them back into their own land, which I gave to their fathers.

16 Behold, sayth the Lord, I wil send out many fishers, and they shall fish them, and after, will I send out many hunters, and they shall hunt them from euery mountaine and from euery hill, and out of the caues of the rockes.

Behold, I will send many fishermen, says the Lord, and they will fish for them. And after this, I will send many hunters to them, and they will hunt for them on every mountain, and on every hilltop, and in the caverns of the rocks.

17 For mine eyes are vpon al their wayes: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquitie hid from mine eyes.

For my eyes are upon all their ways. They have not been hidden from my face, and their iniquity has not been concealed from my eyes.

18 And first I will recompense their iniquitie and their sinne double, because they haue defiled my lande, and haue filled mine inheritance with their filthie carions and their abominations.

But first, I will repay their double iniquities and their sins. For they have defiled my land with the dead bodies of their idols, and they have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”

19 O Lord, thou art my force, and my strength and my refuge in the day of affliction: the Gentiles shall come vnto thee from the ends of the world, and shall say, Surely our fathers haue inherited lies, and vanitie, wherein was no profite.

“O Lord, my strength, and my health, and my refuge in the day of tribulation: the Gentiles will approach you from the ends of the earth, and they will say: ‘Truly, our fathers possessed a lie, an emptiness that has not benefited them.’

20 Shall a man make gods vnto himselfe, and they are no gods?

How can man make gods for himself, though these are not gods?”

21 Beholde, therefore I will this once teach them: I will shewe them mine hande and my power, and they shall know that my Name is the Lord.

“Concerning this, behold: I will make it clear to them, in this turn. I will reveal to them my hand and my virtue. And they will know that the Lord is my name.”