Jeremiah 14:16

¹⁴ “The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds.

¹⁵ Therefore this is what the LORD says about the prophets who prophesy in My name: I did not send them, yet they say, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ By sword and famine these very prophets will meet their end!

And the people to whom they prophesy will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour out their own evil upon them.

¹⁷ You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow, a severely grievous wound.

¹⁸ If I go out to the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, I see those ravaged by famine! For both prophet and priest travel to a land they do not know.’”

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: And the people to whom they prophesy will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour out their own evil upon them.
KJV: And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
WEB: The people to whom they prophesy will be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. They will have no one to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, or their daughters, for I will pour their wickedness on them.
ASV: And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them-them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
DARBY: and the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, because of the famine and the sword; and there shall be none to bury them, them, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters; and I will pour their wickedness upon them.
BLB: And the people whom they prophesy to them will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword, and no one will bury them—they [and] their wives, and their sons, and their daughters; and I will pour their wickedness on them.

ÅB: Og folket som de profeterer for, skal ligge slengt omkring på Jerusalems gater for hunger og sverd, uten at det er noen til å begrave dem, de selv, deres hustruer, deres sønner og deres døtre; og jeg vil utøse deres ondskap over dem.
OTB: Og folket som de profeterer for, skal bli kastet ut i Jerusalems gater på grunn av hungersnøden og sverdet. Det vil ikke være noen til å begrave dem, deres koner, deres sønner og deres døtre. Jeg vil utøse deres egen ondskap over dem.
B1930: Og folket som de profeterer for, skal ligge slengt omkring på Jerusalems gater for hunger og sverd, uten at det er nogen til å begrave dem, de selv, deres hustruer, deres sønner og deres døtre; og jeg vil utøse deres ondskap over dem.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Psalms 79:2–3
They have given the corpses of Your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
Read in context
Proverbs 1:31
So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
Read in context
Jeremiah 7:33
The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.
Read in context
Jeremiah 15:2–3
If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword; those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity.’
Read in context
Jeremiah 18:21
Therefore, hand their children over to famine; pour out the power of the sword upon them. Let their wives become childless and widowed; let their husbands be slain by disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
Read in context
Jeremiah 13:22–25
And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” It is because of the magnitude of your iniquity that your skirts have been stripped off and your body has been exposed.
Read in context
Jeremiah 16:4
“They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth.”
Read in context
Jeremiah 9:22
Declare that this is what the LORD says: “The corpses of men will fall like dung upon the open field, like newly cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather it.”
Read in context