1 T he Word of the Lord came to me, saying,

The word of the Lord also came to me saying,

2 “ Do not get married or have sons or daughters in this place.”

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

3 F or this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land, and about their mothers who give birth to them, and their fathers who gave them life in this land:

For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bear them, and their fathers who beget them in this land:

4 “ They will die of bad diseases. No one will cry for them or bury them. They will be as animal waste on the ground, destroyed by sword and hunger. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the earth.”

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

5 F or the Lord says, “Do not go into a house where the people have lost a loved one. Do not go to cry or to comfort them. For I have taken My peace, My loving-kindness and My pity from these people,” says the Lord.

For thus says the Lord, “Do not enter a house of mourning, or go to lament or to console them; for I have withdrawn My peace from this people,” declares the Lord, “ My lovingkindness and compassion.

6 “ Both great men and small will die in this land. They will not be buried. No one will cry for them. And no one will cut himself or cut off his hair for them.

Both great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, they will not be lamented, nor will anyone gash himself or shave his head for them.

7 N o one will give food to comfort those who sorrow for the dead. And no one will give them the cup of comfort to drink even for the death of their father or mother.

Men will not break 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 D o not go into a house where they are eating much and sit with them to eat and drink.”

Moreover you shall not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.”

9 F or the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “Before your eyes and in your time, I am going to bring an end to the voice of joy, the voice of happiness, the voice of the man to be married and the voice of the bride in this place.

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I am going to eliminate 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.

10 “ When you tell these people all these words, they will say to you, ‘Why has the Lord said all these bad things will happen to us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done against the Lord our God?’

“Now when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘ For what reason has the Lord declared all this great calamity against us? And what is our iniquity, or what is our sin which we have committed against the Lord our God?’

11 T hen you tell them, ‘It is because your fathers before you have turned away from Me,’ says the Lord. ‘They have followed other gods and served them and worshiped them. But they have left Me and have not kept My Law.

Then you are to say to them, ‘ It is because your forefathers have forsaken Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed other gods and served them and bowed down to them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law.

12 A nd you have sinned even more than your fathers before you. For see, each one of you is following the strong-will of his own sinful heart instead of listening to Me.

You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me.

13 S o I will throw you out of this land into a land which you and your fathers have not known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’ God Will Bring Israel Back

So I will hurl you out of this land into the land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will grant you no favor.’ God Will Restore Them

14 “ So the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, Who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.’

“ Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’

15 B ut it will be said, ‘As the Lord lives, Who brought the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had sent them.’ For I will return them to their own land which I gave to their fathers. The Punishment That Is Coming

but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.

16 “ See, I am going to send for many fishermen,” says the Lord, “and they will fish for them. After this I will send for many men who hunt. And they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes in the rocks.

“Behold, I am going to send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks.

17 F or I see all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their sin is not hidden from My eyes.

For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes.

18 A nd I will pay them back twice as much for their wrong-doing and their sin, because they have made My land unclean. They have filled My land with the bodies of their hated false gods and with sinful things offered to them.” Jeremiah’s Prayer

I will first doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable idols and with their abominations.”

19 O Lord, my strength and my strong-place, my safe place in the day of trouble, nations will come to You from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have received nothing but lies, only things that have no worth and do not help them.”

O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, And my refuge in the day of distress, To You the nations will come From the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood, Futility and things of no profit.”

20 C an man make his own gods? What man makes is not gods!

Can man make gods for himself? Yet they are not gods!

21 “ So I am going to make them know. This time I will make them know My power and My strength. And they will know that My name is the Lord.”

“Therefore behold, I am going to make them know— This time I will make them know My power and My might; And they shall know that My name is the Lord.”