Jeremiah 16:1–9

Distresses Foretold

¹The word of the Lord also came to me saying,

²“You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.”

³For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their ^amothers who bear them, and their ^bfathers who beget them in this land:

⁴“They will ^adie of deadly diseases, they ^bwill not be lamented or buried; they will be as ^cdung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their carcasses will become food for the ^dbirds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth.”

⁵For thus says the Lord, “Do not enter a house of ^1amourning, or go to lament or to console them; for I have ^bwithdrawn My peace from this people,” declares the Lord, “My ^clovingkindness and compassion.

⁶“Both ^agreat men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, they will not be lamented, nor will anyone ^bgash himself or ^cshave his head for them.

⁷“Men will not ^abreak 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.

⁸“Moreover you shall ^anot go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.”

⁹For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I am going to ^1aeliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.