THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
JEREMIAH

Jeremiah 16 ©

God commands the prophet to have neither wife nor child in Judah, neither to be present at mourning-feasts, nor at joyful banquets, to represent thereby unto the people the approaching misery, v. 1, etc. An account of the sins which were the cause of the plagues, 10. Between these God adjoins a gracious promise of the deliverance of His people, 14. And after that proceeds in His threats, and an account of the causes thereof, 16. The prophet comforts himself, and confounds the Jews, by the future calling and conversion of the idolatrous Gentiles, 19.

1

THE word of the LORD came also unto me, saying,

2

Thou shalt not 1take thee a wife, neither shalt thou 2have sons or 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 bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land;

4

They shall die of 3grievous deaths;a they shall not be lamented;b neither shall they be buried;c but they shall be as dungd upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their 4carcasese shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

5

For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house 5of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have 6taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies.

6

Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, 7neither shall men lament for them, nor 8cutf themselves, nor make themselves 9bald for them:

7

Neither shall men 10tear themselves 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.

8

Thou shalt not also go into the house 11of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.

9

For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, Ig will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the 12voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.

10

¶And it shall come to pass, whenh thou shalt shew 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?

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;

12

And ye have done 13worsei than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the 14imaginationj of his evil heart, that they may not hearkenk unto me:

13

Therefore will I cast you outl of this land into a land that ye 15know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; 16where I will not shew you favour.

14

17Therefore, behold,m the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall 18no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

15

But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the 19north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

16

¶Behold, I will 20send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the 21holes of the rocks.

17

For mine 22eyesnare upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.

18

And 23first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin 24double; because they have defiledo25my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the 26carcasesp of their detestable and abominable things.

19

O 27LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have 28inherited lies, 29vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

20

30Shall a man make gods unto himself, and 31they are no gods?

21

Therefore, behold, I will this once cause 32them to know, I will cause them to know mine 33hand and my might; and they shall know that my nameqis 34The LORD.