Jeremiah, 16

1. The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying,

1. The word of Yahweh came to me in these terms:

2. Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.

2. "Do not take a wife nor have sons and daughters in this place,

3. For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land;

3. for this is what Yahweh says about sons and daughters born here, and about fathers and mothers who bring them to light in this country:

4. They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; [but] they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

4. All will die of fatal diseases and no one will mourn for them or bury them; their corpses will be like dung on the ground. They will perish by the sword and by starvation and their corpses will be devoured by birds of prey and wild animals."

5. For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, [even] lovingkindness and mercies.

5. Yahweh further insisted, "Do not go into a house of mourning; neither weep nor loudly lament with the bereaved for I have already withdrawn my peace from these people - even my unwavering love and compassion.

6. Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall [men] lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:

6. Both the great and the lowly in this country will perish and no one will mourn for them or bury them. No one shall gash his skin or shave his head as an act of mourning.

7. Neither shall [men] tear [themselves] for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall [men] give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.

7. No funeral meal shall be shared to comfort the bereaved or console them on the death of their fathers and mothers.

8. Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.

8. Do not go to a house of celebration to feast with them before foods and drinks,

9. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in 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.

9. for Yahweh, Saboath God of Israel has this to say: In this place and before your very eyes, I will muffle every sound of pleasure and joy, even the song of the newlywed.

10. And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what [is] our iniquity? or what [is] our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?

10. When you announce all these things to the people, they will ask you: 'Why has Yahweh decided to bring such terrible disasters on us? What wickedness or sin have we committed against Yahweh our God?'

11. Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;

11. Then you shall tell them: 'It is because your fathers turned away from me and went after other gods to serve and worship them. They have forsaken me and refused to obey my Law.

12. And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:

12. But you are worse than your forefathers because each of you has gone his own evil ways following his stubborn heart in complete defiance of me.

13. Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, [neither] ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.

13. Therefore, I will kick you out of this land into a place which is strange to you and your forefathers. There, you will serve other gods day and night, and you will get no compassion from me.' "

14. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

14. Yahweh says, "The days are coming when people will no longer say, 'Yahweh is a living God for he brought the Israelites out of Egypt,'

15. But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

15. Rather, they will say, 'Yahweh is a living God for he liberated the Israelites out of the northern land and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' Yes, I will bring them back to their own country - the land that I bestowed to their forefathers."

16. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

16. But now Yahweh says, "I am sending for many fishermen to catch them. Afterwards, I will send for many hunters to hunt them down on every mountain, hill and cave in the rocks.

17. For mine eyes [are] upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.

17. The things that they do are manifest before my eyes and the sins that they commit are not hidden from me.

18. And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.

18. I will make them pay double for their wickedness and sin; they have contaminated my land with their idols that are as dead as corpses and have filled it with their abominations."

19. O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and [things] wherein [there is] no profit.

19. Yahweh, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in times of distress! From the furthest limits of the earth nations will come to you and say, "Our fathers possessed only falsehood, worthless idols bereft of power."

20. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they [are] no gods?

20. Will man make his own gods? Then they are not gods!

21. Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name [is] The LORD.

21. Hence Yahweh says: "I will show and let them know my power and my might. And they will know that Yahweh is my name.