Jeremiah 16

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

And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

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

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

3 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:

For thus hath said the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bear them, and concerning their fathers that beget them in this land:

4 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.

A death through diseases of famine shall they die; they shall not be lamented for; nor shall they be buried; for dung upon the face of the earth shall they be: and by the sword and by famine shall they come to their end; and their carcasses shall be for food unto the fowls of heaven, and unto the beasts of the earth.

5 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.

For thus hath said the Lord, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor to condole with them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the Lord, yea, kindness and mercy.

6 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;

And both the great and the small shall die in this land, — they shall not be buried, and men shall not lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves 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 shall they break bread for them at their mourning, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall they give them to drink the cup of consolation for their father and for their mother.

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

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

9 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.

For thus hath said 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 gladness, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.

10 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?'

And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt tell this people all these words, and they should say unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord spoken against us all this great evil? and what is our iniquity? and what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?

11 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;

That thou shalt say unto them, Because your fathers forsook me, saith the Lord, and walked after other gods, and served them, and bowed down unto them, and me they forsook, and my law they kept not;

12 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:

And ye act worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so as not to hearken unto me;

13 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.'

Therefore will I hurl you out of this land into the land of which ye had no knowledge, neither ye nor your fathers; and ye will serve there other gods by day and by night; so that I will not grant you any favor.

14 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;'

Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when it shall not he said any more, As the Lord liveth, who hath brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

15 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.

But, As the Lord liveth, who hath 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 cause them to return unto their land which I have given unto their fathers.

16 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.

Behold, I will send for many fishermen, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after that will I 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 on all their ways; they are not hidden from my face, neither is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.

For my eyes are directed upon all their ways, they are not hidden from my face, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.

18 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."

And [thus] will I pay them at the first their two-fold iniquity and their sin; because they have defiled my land, filling my heritage with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.

19 "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.

O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge on the day of trouble, unto thee shall nations come from the ends of the earth, and say, Nothing but falsehood had our fathers inherited, vanity, wherein there is no profit.

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

How? can a man make unto himself gods, which are yet no gods?

21 "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.

Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, at this time will I cause them to know, my hand and my might: and they shall know that my name is The Eternal.