Jeremiahchapter 16

A.Take Thee No Wife, Enter No House of Mourningvv. 1-9

1 The word of the Lord came also unto me, saying, 2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or 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; 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. 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. 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: 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. 8 Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink. 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.

B.Why Hath the LORD Pronounced All This Great Evil?vv. 10-13

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? 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; 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: 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.

C.Fishers and Hunters; the Nations Come from the Ends of the Earthvv. 14-21

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; 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. 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. 17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. 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. 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. 20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no 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.

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Chapter summary

The prophet's life becomes the sermon: he may not marry or father children, may not enter the house of mourning, may not sit in the house of feasting.

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The prophet's life becomes the sermon: he may not marry or father children, may not enter the house of mourning, may not sit in the house of feasting. Because the mourning and the marriage songs of Judah are both about to end. Then a startling reversal of Israel's founding confession: the day comes when men will no longer swear by the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, but by the God who brought them back 'from the land of the north.' Fishers and hunters will fetch them home, and the nations will come from the ends of the earth confessing that their fathers inherited nothing but lies.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Prophecy · Jeremiah — Jeremiah overview

A. 1–9 Take Thee No Wife, Enter No House of Mourning
B. 10–13 Why Hath the LORD Pronounced All This Great Evil?
C. 14–21 Fishers and Hunters; the Nations Come from the Ends of the Earth

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Jeremiah 252 verses
- Jeremiah 25:10Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.
- Jeremiah 25:33And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
- Read Jeremiah 25 →
Psalms 832 verses
- Psalms 83:10Which perished at En–dor: they became as dung for the earth.
- Psalms 83:18That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.
- Read Psalms 83 →
Jeremiah 92 verses
- Jeremiah 9:14But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
- Jeremiah 9:22Speak, Thus saith the Lord, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.
- Read Jeremiah 9 →
Ezekiel 242 verses
- Ezekiel 24:16Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down.
- Ezekiel 24:17Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.
- Read Ezekiel 24 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Jeremiah 152 verses
- Jeremiah 15:14And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.
- Jeremiah 15:17I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
- Read Jeremiah 15 →
Jeremiah 72 verses
- Jeremiah 7:26Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
- Jeremiah 7:34Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from 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 be desolate.
- Read Jeremiah 7 →
Jeremiah 132 verses
- Jeremiah 13:10This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.
- Jeremiah 13:22And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare.
- Read Jeremiah 13 →
Jeremiah 232 verses
- Jeremiah 23:7Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
- Jeremiah 23:24Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.
- Read Jeremiah 23 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.