Jeremiah 16

1 The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying:

And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

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

“You do not take a wife to yourself, Nor do you have sons and daughters in this place.”

3 For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bore them, and concerning their fathers that begot them in this land:

For thus said YHWH, 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 shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried, they shall be as dung upon the face of the ground; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

“They die painful deaths, They are not lamented, nor are they buried, For they are dung on the face of the ground, And are consumed by sword and by famine, And their carcass has been for food To the bird of the heavens, And to the beast of the earth.”

5 For thus saith the LORD: Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament, neither bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people, saith the LORD, even mercy and compassion.

For thus said YHWH: “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,” A declaration of YHWH, “The kindness and the mercies.

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 themselves, nor make themselves bald for them;

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

7 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.

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

You do not enter a house of banqueting, To sit with them, to eat and to drink,”

9 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 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 said YHWH of Hosts, God of Israel: “Behold, 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 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt tell this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee: 'Wherefore hath 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 it has come to pass, When you declare all these words to this people, And they have said to you, Why has YHWH spoken all this great evil against us? Indeed, what [is] our iniquity, and what [is] our sin, That we have sinned against our God YHWH?

11 then shalt thou say unto them: 'Because your fathers have forsaken Me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken Me, and have not kept My law;

Then you have said to them: Because that your fathers have forsaken Me, A declaration of YHWH, And go after other gods, and serve them, And they bow themselves to them, And have forsaken Me, and not kept My law,

12 and ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that ye hearken not unto Me;

You also have done evil above your fathers, And behold, you are each walking after the stubbornness of his evil heart, So as not to listen to Me.

13 therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye have not known, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; forasmuch as I will show you no favour.'

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

14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said: 'As the LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt,'

Therefore, behold, days are coming,” A declaration of YHWH, “And it is not said anymore, YHWH lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,

15 but: 'As the LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries whither He had driven them'; and I will bring them back into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

But, YHWH lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of the north, And out of all the lands to where He drove them, And I have brought them back to their land, That I gave to their fathers.

16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; 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.

Behold, I am sending for many fishers,” A declaration of YHWH, “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 Mine eyes are upon all their ways, they are not hid from My face; Neither is their iniquity concealed from Mine eyes.

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

18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have profaned My land; they have filled Mine inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable things and their abominations.

And I have repaid a first—A second time—their iniquity and their sin, Because of their defiling My land, With the carcass of their detestable things, Indeed, their abominations have filled My inheritance.”

19 O LORD, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge, in the day of affliction, unto Thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say: 'Our fathers have inherited nought but lies, vanity and things wherein there is no profit.'

O YHWH, my strength, and my fortress, And my refuge in a day of adversity, Nations come to You from the ends of the earth, And say, “Our fathers only inherited falsehood, Vanity, and none among them is profitable.”

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

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

21 Therefore, behold, 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.

“Therefore, behold, 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] YHWH!”