Distresses Foretold

16 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, “You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.” For this is what the Lord says concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their (A)mothers who give birth to them, and their (B)fathers who father them in this land: “They will (C)die of deadly diseases, they (D)will not be mourned or buried; they will be like (E)dung on the surface of the ground. And they will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the (F)birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”

For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house of (G)mourning, or go to mourn or to console them; for I have (H)withdrawn My peace from this people,” declares the Lord, “and My (I)favor and compassion. Both (J)great people and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not mourn for them, nor will anyone (K)make cuts on himself or have his head (L)shaved for them. People will not (M)break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother. Moreover, you shall (N)not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.” For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to (O)eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.

10 “Now it will happen that, when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘(P)For what reason has the Lord declared all this great disaster against us? And what is our wrongdoing, or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ 11 Then you are to say to them, ‘It is (Q)because your forefathers have abandoned Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed (R)other gods, and served and worshiped them; but they have abandoned Me and have not kept My Law. 12 You too have done evil, even (S)more than your forefathers; for behold, each one of you is following the (T)stubbornness of his own (U)evil heart, without listening to Me. 13 So I will (V)hurl you off this land to the (W)land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will (X)serve other gods day and night, because I will show you no compassion.’

God Will Restore Them

14 (Y)Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who (Z)brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the (AA)land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.

16 “Behold, I am going to send for many (AB)fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will (AC)hunt them (AD)from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks. 17 (AE)For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, (AF)nor is their wrongdoing concealed from My eyes. 18 I will first repay them (AG)double for their wrongdoing and their sin, because they have (AH)defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their (AI)detestable idols and their abominations.”

19 Lord, my (AJ)strength and my stronghold,
And my (AK)refuge in the day of distress,
To You the (AL)nations will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but (AM)falsehood,
Futility, and [a](AN)things of no benefit.”
20 Can a person make gods for himself?
But they are (AO)not gods!

21 “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—
This time I will (AP)make them know
My [b]power and My might;
And they will (AQ)know that My name is the Lord.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 16:19 Lit there is nothing profitable in them
  2. Jeremiah 16:21 Lit hand

Day of Disaster

16 Then the word of the Lord came to me: “You must not marry(A) and have sons or daughters in this place.” For this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers:(B) “They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried(C) but will be like dung lying on the ground.(D) They will perish by sword and famine,(E) and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.”(F)

For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity(G) from this people,” declares the Lord. “Both high and low will die in this land.(H) They will not be buried or mourned,(I) and no one will cut(J) themselves or shave(K) their head for the dead. No one will offer food(L) to comfort those who mourn(M) for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console(N) them.

“And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.(O) For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds(P) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride(Q) and bridegroom in this place.(R)

10 “When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’(S) 11 then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped(T) them. They forsook me and did not keep my law.(U) 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors.(V) See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts(W) instead of obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land(X) into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known,(Y) and there you will serve other gods(Z) day and night, for I will show you no favor.’(AA)

14 “However, the days are coming,”(AB) declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(AC) 15 but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north(AD) and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’(AE) For I will restore(AF) them to the land I gave their ancestors.(AG)

16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.(AH) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt(AI) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.(AJ) 17 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden(AK) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.(AL) 18 I will repay(AM) them double(AN) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land(AO) with the lifeless forms of their vile images(AP) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.(AQ)(AR)

19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
    my refuge(AS) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come(AT)
    from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,(AU)
    worthless idols(AV) that did them no good.(AW)
20 Do people make their own gods?
    Yes, but they are not gods!”(AX)

21 “Therefore I will teach them—
    this time I will teach them
    my power and might.
Then they will know
    that my name(AY) is the Lord.