Jeremiah 16:1–9

No Marriage for Jeremiah

16The word of the Lord came to me: ²“You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place. ³For this is what the Lord says concerning sons and daughters born in this place as well as concerning the mothers who bear them and the fathers who father them in this land: ⁴They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like manure on the face of the earth. ^oThey will be finished off by sword and famine. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land. ^p

⁵“For this is what the Lord says: Don’t enter a house where a mourning feast is taking place. ^qDon’t go to lament or sympathize with them, for I have removed My peace from these people”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“as well as My faithful love and compassion. ^r6Both great and small will die in this land without burial. No lament will be made for them, nor will anyone cut himself or ^sshave his head for them. ^t7Food won’t be provided for the mourner ^uto comfort him because of the dead. A cup of consolation won’t be given him because of the loss of his father or mother. ⁸You must not enter the house where feasting is taking place to sit with them to eat and drink. ⁹For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to eliminate from this place, before your very eyes and in your time, the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride. ^v