Jeremiah 16

Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry

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

2 “You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place.”

3 For this is what the LORD says about the sons and daughters born in this land, and about their mothers and fathers:

4 “They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried; they will lie like dung on the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their bodies will become food for the birds and wild animals.”

No Mourning, No Feasting

5 “For this is what the LORD says: Do not enter a house where there is mourning; do not go to lament or show sympathy, For I have removed My peace, My lovingkindness, and My mercy from this people.”

6 “Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. No one will cut themselves or shave their heads for them.”

7 “No one will break bread for the bereaved to comfort them in mourning for the dead, Nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for their father or mother.”

8 “And do not enter a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.”

9 For this is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel, says: “I will silence the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and the groom, in this place, before your eyes and in your days.”

Why Judgment Is Coming

10 “And when you tell these people all these words, they will ask, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this disaster against us, What is our sin, What have we done wrong against the LORD our God?’”

11 Then you will answer them, “It is because your fathers abandoned Me,” declares the LORD. “They followed other gods, served them, and worshiped them. They abandoned Me and did not keep My law.”

12 “But you have done even worse than your fathers. Each one of you follows the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of listening to Me.”

13 “So I will throw you out of this land into a land neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.”

Promise of Restoration

14 “Yet the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’”

15 “but, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land, which I gave to their fathers.”

Hunters and Fishers of Men

16 “Look, I am sending for many fishermen,” declares the LORD, “and they will catch them. After that, I will send many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and hill and out of the clefts of the rocks.”

17 “For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from Me, nor is their sin concealed from My eyes.”

18 “I will first repay them double for their sin and debauchery, Because they defiled My land with their detestable idols and filled My inheritance with their abominations.”

Nations Will Acknowledge God

19 LORD, my strength, my fortress, my refuge in the day of trouble, The nations will come to You from the ends of the earth and say, “Our ancestors inherited nothing but lies, worthless idols that bring no benefit.”

20 “Can people make gods for themselves, These are not gods at all.”

21 “Therefore, I will make them know, This time I will make them know My power and My might. Then they will know that My name is the LORD.”