Jeremiah 16

1 Then the LORD’s word came to me, saying,

And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying:

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

Thou dost not take to thee a wife, Nor hast thou sons and daughters in this place.

3 For the LORD says 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 said Jehovah, 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 will die grievous deaths. They will not be lamented, neither will they be buried. They will be as dung on the surface of the ground. They will be consumed by the sword and by famine. Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”

Of painful deaths they die, They are not lamented, nor are they buried, For dung on the face of the ground they are, And by sword and by famine are consumed, And their carcase hath been for food To the fowl of the heavens, And to the beast of the earth.

5 For the LORD says, “Don’t enter into the house of mourning. Don’t go to lament. Don’t bemoan them, for I have taken away my peace from this people,” says the LORD, “even loving kindness and tender mercies.

For thus said Jehovah: 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, An affirmation of Jehovah, The kindness and the mercies.

6 Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried. Men won’t lament for them, cut themselves, or make themselves bald for them.

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

7 Men won’t break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead. Men won’t 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 “You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and to drink.”

A house of banqueting thou dost not enter, To sit with them, to eat and to drink,

9 For the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel says: “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 Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Lo, 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 It will happen, when you tell this people all these words, and they ask 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 hath come to pass when thou declarest to this people all these words, and they have said unto thee, 'For what hath Jehovah spoken against us all this great evil? yea, what [is] our iniquity, and what our sin, that we have sinned against Jehovah our God?'

11 then you shall tell them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me,’ says the LORD, ‘and have walked after other gods, have served them, have worshipped them, have forsaken me, and have not kept my law.

Then thou hast said unto them: Because that your fathers have forsaken Me, An affirmation of Jehovah, And go after other gods, and serve them, And they bow themselves to them, And Me have forsaken, and My law not kept,

12 You have done evil more than your fathers, for behold, you each walk after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that you don’t listen to me.

Ye also have done evil above your fathers, And lo, ye are walking each after the stubbornness of his evil heart, So as not to hearken unto Me.

13 Therefore I will cast you out of this land into the land that you have not known, neither you nor your fathers. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favour.’

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

14 “Therefore behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that it will no more be said, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;’

Therefore, lo, days are coming, An affirmation of Jehovah, And it is not said any more: 'Jehovah liveth, who brought up The sons 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, 'Jehovah liveth, who brought up The sons of Israel out of the land of the north, And out of all the lands whither 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 fishermen,” says the LORD, “and they will fish them up. Afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain, from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.

Lo, I am sending for many fishers, An affirmation of Jehovah, 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 my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from my face. Their iniquity isn’t concealed from my eyes.

For Mine eyes [are] upon all their ways, They have not been hidden from My face, Nor hath their iniquity been concealed from before Mine 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 I have recompensed a first — A second time — their iniquity and their sin, Because of their polluting My land, With the carcase of their detestable things, Yea, their abominable things have filled Mine inheritance.

19 LORD, my strength, my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and will say, “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vanity and things in which there is no profit.

O Jehovah, my strength, and my fortress, And my refuge in a day of adversity, Unto Thee nations do come from the ends of earth, And say, Only falsehood did our fathers inherit, Vanity, and none among them is profitable.

20 Should a man make to himself gods which yet are no gods?”

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

21 “Therefore behold, I will cause them to know, this once I will cause them to know my hand and my might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD.”

Therefore, lo, 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] Jehovah!