Jeremiah 16:6
in Jeremiah 16“Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Both great and 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;
KJV
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:
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This verse in Jeremiah 16
Commentary
8 notes on this verseNor cut themselves - A custom of the heathen forbidden to the Jews, Lev 19:28; Deu 14:1, and which appears now to have prevailed among them; because, having become idolaters, they conformed to all the customs of the heathen. They tore their hair, rent their garments, cut their hands, arms, and faces. These were not only signs of sorrow but were even supposed to give ease to the dead, and appease the angry deities.
This site's exposition
a house where there is a funeral meal
on Jeremiah 16:5-9
Jeremiah may not enter “a house where there is a funeral meal”, because the LORD has removed “My peace, My loving devotion, and My compassion”. The dead will be past counting. Verse 9 names the sounds of a wedding, “the voices of the bride and bridegroom”, to announce their silence.
This site's exposition
Both great and small will die
Gill reads great and small as the wealthy and poor alike. Barnes notes that the Law forbade mourners to cut themselves or shave the head, yet the customs had stayed in use. Adam Clarke ties them to the ways of the heathen that Judah took up with its idols.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 5 onwards) For thus says the Lord: Do not enter the house of the feast, nor go to mourn, nor console them, for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the Lord, mercy and compassion. And the great and the small shall die in this land, they shall not be buried, nor mourned, nor shall they make a cut in themselves, nor shall there be baldness for them.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He had little reason to lament those who died now just before the judgments entered which he saw at the door, but rather to think those happy who were seasonable taken away from the evil to come. This was to be a type of what was coming, when there should be such universal confusion that all neighbourly friendly offices should be neglected.
), Both the great and the small shall die, even in this land, the land of Canaan, that used to be called the land of the living. God's favour is our life; take away that, and we die, we perish, we all perish.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Both the great and the small shall die in this land,.... The nobles as well as the common people, high and low, rich and poor; none shall be exempted from the grievous deaths by the sword, famine, and pestilence.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Cut themselves ... make themselves bald - Both these practices were strictly forbidden in the Law (marginal references) probably as being pagan customs, but they seem to have remained in common use. By “making bald” is meant shaving a bare patch on the front of the head.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמֵ֨תוּ | umetu | and they will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| גְדֹלִ֧ים | gedolim | great [people] | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וּקְטַנִּ֛ים | uketanim | and insignificant [people] | H6996 → | 101 times |
| בָּאָ֥רֶץ | baaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַזֹּ֖את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִקָּבֵ֑רוּ | yikaveru | they will be buried | H6912 → | 133 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִסְפְּד֣וּ | yispedu | people will mourn | H5594 → | 30 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | for <the> them | ||
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִתְגֹּדַ֔ד | yitgodad | anyone will cut himself | H1413 → | 8 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִקָּרֵ֖חַ | yikareach | anyone will make himself bald | H7139 → | |
| לָהֶֽם׃ | lahem | for <the> them |
וּמֵ֨תוּand they will die
umetuH4191 →839 times
גְדֹלִ֧יםgreat [people]
gedolimH1419 →526 times
וּקְטַנִּ֛יםand insignificant [people]
uketanimH6996 →101 times
בָּאָ֥רֶץin the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
הַזֹּ֖את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִקָּבֵ֑רוּthey will be buried
yikaveruH6912 →133 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִסְפְּד֣וּpeople will mourn
yispeduH5594 →30 times
לָהֶ֔םfor <the> them
lahem
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִתְגֹּדַ֔דanyone will cut himself
yitgodadH1413 →8 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִקָּרֵ֖חַanyone will make himself bald
yikareachH7139 →
לָהֶֽם׃for <the> them
lahem
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 19:28You must not make any cuts in your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 14:1
You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 21:5
Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 48:37
For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 18:28
So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.
- Leviticus 21:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people,
- Deuteronomy 14:1
Through
Isaiah 22:12On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
it leads to
- Micah 1:16
Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in mourning for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they will go from you into exile.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Micah 1:16
Through
Deuteronomy 14:1You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,
it leads to
- Romans 9:8
So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.
- Galatians 3:26
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
- Romans 9:8
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.