Famine, Sword, and Death

Jeremiah 16

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. 3 For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bore them and the fathers who fathered them in this land: 4 j They shall die of deadly diseases. k They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. l They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. m They shall perish by the sword and by famine, n and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.

5 "For thus says the Lord: o Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to lament or grieve for them, for I have taken away my peace from this people, my steadfast love and mercy, declares the Lord. 6 Both great and small shall die in this land. k They shall not be buried, and no one shall lament for them or p cut himself q or make himself bald for them. 7 No one shall r break bread for the mourner, to comfort him for the dead, nor shall anyone give him the cup of consolation to drink for his father or his mother. 8 You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink. 9 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: s Behold, I will silence in this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

10 "And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, t 'Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?' 11 then you shall say to them: u 'Because your fathers have forsaken me, declares the Lord, and v have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law, 12 and because w you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, x every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me. 13 Therefore y I will hurl you out of this land into z a land that neither you nor your fathers have known, a and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.'

  1. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:2
    And when they ask you, 'Where shall we go?' you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord : "'Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence, and those who are for the sword, to the sword; those who are for famine, to famine, and those who are for captivity, to captivity.
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 22:18 - 19
    Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: "They shall not lament for him, saying, 'Ah, my brother!' or 'Ah, sister!' They shall not lament for him, saying, 'Ah, lord!' or 'Ah, his majesty!
    Jeremiah 25:33
    And those pierced by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 8:2
    And they shall be spread before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, which they have gone after, and which they have sought and worshiped. And they shall not be gathered or buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground.
  4. Cross References
    Jeremiah 14:12
    Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.
  5. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:33
    And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth, and none will frighten them away.
  6. Cross References
    Ezekiel 24:16 - 23
    Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down.
  7. Cross References
    Jeremiah 16:4
    They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.
  8. Cross References
    Leviticus 19:28
    You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the Lord.
    Deuteronomy 14:1
    You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.
  9. Cross References
    Job 1:20
    Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
    Isaiah 3:24
    Instead of perfume there will be rottenness; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty.
  10. Cross References
    Isaiah 58:7
    Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
    Ezekiel 24:17
    Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.
    Deuteronomy 26:14
    I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me.
    Hosea 9:4
    They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord, and their sacrifices shall not please him. It shall be like mourners' bread to them; all who eat of it shall be defiled; for their bread shall be for their hunger only; it shall not come to the house of the Lord.
  11. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:34
    And I will silence in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall become a waste.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 5:19
    And when your people say, 'Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?' you shall say to them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.'
  13. Cross References
    Jeremiah 5:19
    And when your people say, 'Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?' you shall say to them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.
    Jeremiah 22:9
    And they will answer, "Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them."'
    Deuteronomy 29:25 - 26
    Then people will say, 'It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.
    2 Kings 22:17
    Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.
    2 Chronicles 34:25
    Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands, therefore my wrath will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched.
  14. Cross References
    Jeremiah 13:10
    This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing.
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:26
    Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.
  16. Cross References
    Jeremiah 3:17
    At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.
  17. Cross References
    Jeremiah 10:18
    For thus says the Lord : "Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will bring distress on them, that they may feel it.
    Jeremiah 22:26
    I will hurl you and the mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die.
    Isaiah 22:17 - 18
    Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you
    Deuteronomy 4:26 - 28
    I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed.
    Deuteronomy 28:64 - 65
    And the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
  18. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:14
    I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.
  19. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:36
    The Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone.
    Deuteronomy 28:64
    And the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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