Jeremiah 16

Famine, Sword, and Death

1 The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, 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 their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: 4 "They shall die a gruesome deaths; they shall not be b lamented nor shall they be c buried, but they shall be d like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their e corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth."

5 For thus says the LORD: f "Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people," says the LORD, "lovingkindness and mercies. 6 "Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; g neither shall men lament for them, h cut themselves, nor i make themselves bald for them. 7 "Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to j drink for their father or their mother. 8 "Also 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: "Behold, k I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of 1 mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

10 "And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, l 'Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?' 11 "then you shall say to them, m 'Because your fathers have forsaken Me,' says the LORD; 'they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. 12 'And you have done n worse than your fathers, for behold, o each one 2 follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. 13 p 'Therefore I will cast you out of this land q into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.'

The Lord Will Restore Israel

14 "Therefore behold, the r days are coming," says the LORD, "that it shall no more be said, 'The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,' 15 "but, 'The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the s north and from all the lands where He had driven them.' For t I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.

16 "Behold, I will send for many u fishermen," says the LORD, "and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 "For My v eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. 18 "And first I will repay w double for their iniquity and their sin, because x they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols."

19 O LORD, y my strength and my fortress,
z My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
"Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and a unprofitable things."
20 Will a man make gods for himself,
b Which are not gods?

21 "Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know,
I will cause them to know
My hand and My might;
And they shall know that c My name is the LORD.

  1. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:2
    "And it shall be, if they say to you, 'Where should we go?' then you shall tell them, 'Thus says the LORD: "Such as are for death, to death; And such as are for the sword, to the sword; And such as are for the famine, to the famine; And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity."'
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 22:18
    Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: "They shall not lament for him, Saying, 'Alas, my brother!' or 'Alas, my sister!' They shall not lament for him, Saying, 'Alas, master!' or 'Alas, his glory!
    Jeremiah 25:33
    And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 14:16
    'And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them - them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters - for I will pour their wickedness on them.'
    Jeremiah 19:11
    And say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, which cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury.
  4. Cross References
    Psalms 83:10
    Who perished at En Dor, Who became as refuse on the earth.
    Jeremiah 8:2
    They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth.
    Jeremiah 9:22
    Speak, "Thus says the LORD: 'Even the carcasses of men shall fall as refuse on the open field, Like cuttings after the harvester, And no one shall gather them.'
  5. Cross References
    Psalms 79:2
    The dead bodies of Your servants They have given as food for the birds of the heavens, The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
    Isaiah 18:6
    They will be left together for the mountain birds of prey And for the beasts of the earth; The birds of prey will summer on them, And all the beasts of the earth will winter on them.
    Jeremiah 7:33
    The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. And no one will frighten them away.
    Jeremiah 34:20
    I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth.
  6. Cross References
    Ezekiel 24:17
    "Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man's bread of sorrow."
    Ezekiel 24:22
    And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man's bread of sorrow.
    Ezekiel 24:23
    Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another.
  7. Cross References
    Jeremiah 22:18
    Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: "They shall not lament for him, Saying, 'Alas, my brother!' or 'Alas, my sister!' They shall not lament for him, Saying, 'Alas, master!' or 'Alas, his glory!
  8. Cross References
    Leviticus 19:28
    You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD.
    Deuteronomy 14:1
    You are the children of the LORD your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead.
    Jeremiah 41:5
    That certain men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.
    Jeremiah 47:5
    Baldness has come upon Gaza, Ashkelon is cut off With the remnant of their valley. How long will you cut yourself?
  9. Cross References
    Isaiah 22:12
    And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.
    Jeremiah 7:29
    'Cut off your hair and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the desolate heights; for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.'
  10. Cross References
    Proverbs 31:6
    Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart.
  11. Cross References
    Isaiah 24:7
    The new wine fails, the vine languishes, All th...
    Isaiah 24:8
    The mirth of the tambourine ceases, The noise o...
    Jeremiah 7:34
    Then I will cause to cease from the cities of J...
    Jeremiah 25:10
    Moreover I will take from them the voice of mir...
    Ezekiel 26:13
    I will put an end to the sound of your songs, a...
    Hosea 2:11
    I will also cause all her mirth to cease, Her f...
    Revelation 18:23
    The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anym...
  12. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 29:24
    "All nations would say, 'Why has the LORD done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?'
    1 Kings 9:8
    "And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, 'Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?'
    Jeremiah 5:19
    "And it will be when you say, 'Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us?' then you shall answer them, 'Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.'
  13. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 29:25
    Then people would say: 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt.
    1 Kings 9:9
    "Then they will answer, 'Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the LORD has brought all this calamity on them.'"
    2 Chronicles 7:22
    "Then they will answer, 'Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.'"
    Nehemiah 9:26 - 29
    Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who testified against them To turn them to Yourself; And they worked great provocations.
    Jeremiah 22:9
    "Then they will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.'"
  14. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:26
    Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 3:17
    At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.
    Jeremiah 18:12
    And they said, "That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.
  16. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 4:26
    I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed.
    Deuteronomy 28:36
    The LORD will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods - wood and stone.
    Deuteronomy 28:63
    And it shall be, that just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.
  17. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:14
    And I will make you cross over with your enemies Into a land which you do not know; For a fire is kindled in My anger, Which shall burn upon you.
  18. Cross References
    Isaiah 43:18
    Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old.
    Jeremiah 23:7
    "Therefore, behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "that they shall no longer say, 'As the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,'
    Jeremiah 23:8
    "but, 'As the LORD lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.' And they shall dwell in their own land."
    Ezekiel 37:21 - 25
    Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land.
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 3:18
    In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.
  20. Cross References
    Jeremiah 24:6
    For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up.
    Jeremiah 30:3
    'For behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, 'that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,' says the LORD. 'And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.'"
    Jeremiah 32:37
    Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.
  21. Cross References
    Amos 4:2
    The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: "Behold, the days shall come upon you When He will take you away with fishhooks, And your posterity with fishhooks.
    Habakkuk 1:15
    They take up all of them with a hook, They catch them in their net, And gather them in their dragnet. Therefore they rejoice and are glad.
  22. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 16:9
    "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throug...
    Job 34:21
    For His eyes are on the ways of man, And He see...
    Psalms 90:8
    You have set our iniquities before You, Our sec...
    Proverbs 5:21
    For the ways of man are before the eyes of the ...
    Jeremiah 23:24
    Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I ...
    Jeremiah 32:19
    You are great in counsel and mighty in work, fo...
    Zechariah 4:10
    For who has despised the day of small things? F...
    Luke 12:2
    For there is nothing covered that will not be r...
    1 Corinthians 4:5
    Therefore judge nothing before the time, until ...
    Hebrews 4:13
    And there is no creature hidden from His sight,...
  23. Cross References
    Isaiah 40:2
    "Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD's hand Double for all her sins."
    Jeremiah 17:18
    Let them be ashamed who persecute me, But do not let me be put to shame; Let them be dismayed, But do not let me be dismayed. Bring on them the day of doom, And destroy them with double destruction!
    Revelation 18:6
    Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her.
  24. Cross References
    Ezekiel 43:7
    And He said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places.
  25. Cross References
    Psalms 18:1
    I WILL love You, O LORD, my strength.
    Psalms 18:2
    The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
    Isaiah 25:4
    For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat; For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
  26. Cross References
    Jeremiah 17:17
    Do not be a terror to me; You are my hope in the day of doom.
  27. Cross References
    Isaiah 44:10
    Who would form a god or mold an image That profits him nothing?
  28. Cross References
    Psalms 115:4 - 8
    Their idols are silver and gold, The work of me...
    Isaiah 37:19
    And have cast their gods into the fire; for the...
    Jeremiah 2:11
    Has a nation changed its gods, Which are not go...
    Jeremiah 5:7
    How shall I pardon you for this? Your children ...
    Hosea 8:4 - 6
    They set up kings, but not by Me; They made pri...
    Galatians 4:8
    But then, indeed, when you did not know God, yo...
  29. Cross References
    Exodus 15:3
    The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name.
    Psalms 83:18
    That they may know that You, whose name alone is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.
    Isaiah 43:3
    For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
    Jeremiah 33:2
    Thus says the LORD who made it, the LORD who formed it to establish it (the LORD is His name):
    Amos 5:8
    He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; The LORD is His name.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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