Jeremiah 16

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

Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

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

“Do not take a wife for yourself, and do not have sons or daughters for yourself 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 Yahweh says this to the sons and daughters who are born in this place, to the mothers who bear them, and to the fathers who caused them to be born 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 will die diseased deaths. They will not be mourned or buried. They will be like dung on the ground. For they will come to an end by sword and famine, and their corpses will be food for the birds of the skies and the beasts 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 the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 'Do not enter a house where there is mourning. Do not go to mourn or to show sympathy for them, for I have taken away my peace from this people—this is Yahweh's declaration—and my steadfast love and mercy.

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;

Both the great and the small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and no one will mourn for them or cut themselves or shave their heads 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.

No one must share any food in mourning to comfort them because of the deaths, and none must give a comforting cup to his father or his mother in order to comfort them.

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

You must not go to a banquet house to sit with them in order to eat or 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 Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this, 'See, before your eyes, in your days and in this place, I am about to put an end to the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the sound of the groom and the sound of the 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?'

Then it will happen that you will report all these words to this people, and they will say to you, 'Why has Yahweh decreed all this great disaster against us? What is our iniquity and sin that we sinned against Yahweh our God?'

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;

So say to them, 'Because your ancestors abandoned me—this is Yahweh's declaration—and they went after other gods and worshiped and bowed down to them. They abandoned me and have 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;

But you yourselves have brought about more wickedness than your ancestors, for see, each person is walking by the stubbornness of his wicked heart; there is no one who listens 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.'

So I will throw you from this land to a land that you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors, and you will worship other gods there by day and night, for I will not give any favor 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, the days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when it will no longer be said, 'As Yahweh lives, the one who brought up the people of Israel from 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, 'As Yahweh lives, the one who brought up the people of Israel from the land of the north and from the lands where he had scattered them.' For I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors.

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 will send for many fishermen—this is Yahweh's declaration—so they will fish the people out. After this I will send for many hunters so they will hunt for them among all the mountains and hills, and in rock crevices.

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 eye is on all their ways; they cannot be hidden from before me. Their iniquity cannot be 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.

I will first pay back double for their iniquity and sin for their polluting of my land with their disgusting idol figures, and for their filling my inheritance with their disgusting idols.”

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.'

Yahweh, you are my stronghold and my refuge, my place of safety in the day of distress. The nations will go to you from the ends of the earth and say, “Surely our ancestors inherited deceit. They are empty; there is no profit in them.

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

Do people make gods for themselves? But they are not 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 see! I will cause them to know in this time, I will cause them to know my hand and my power, so they will know that Yahweh is my name.