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Jeremiah 16:4

Judgment

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;

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:

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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
“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.”
KJV
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.
WEB
“They will die grievous deaths. They will not be lamented, neither will they be buried. They will be as dung on the surface of the ground. They will be consumed by the sword and by famine. Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”
ASV
They shall die grievous deaths: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung upon the face of the ground; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth.
DARBY
They shall die of painful deaths; they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung upon the face of the ground, and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine, and their carcases shall be food for the fowl of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth.
BLB
“They will die diseased deaths; they will not be mourned, and they will not be buried; they will be like dung upon the face of the ground, and by the sword and by famine they will be finished off, and their corpses shall be as food for the birds of the heavens and for the beast of the earth.”
ÅB
En smertefull død skal de dø, ingen skal gråte over dem, og ingen begrave dem; til gjødsel på marken skal de bli, og ved sverd og hungersnød skal de omkomme, og deres lik skal bli til føde for himmelens fugler og for jordens dyr.
OTB
"De skal dø av grusomme sykdommer; de skal ikke bli sørget over eller begravet; de skal være som gjødsel på jordens overflate. De skal omkomme ved sverdet og ved hungersnød, og deres lik skal være mat for himmelens fugler og jordens dyr."
B1930
En smertefull død skal de dø, ingen skal gråte over dem, og ingen begrave dem; til gjødsel på marken skal de bli, og ved sverd og hungersnød skal de omkomme, og deres lik skal bli til føde for himmelens fugler og for jordens dyr.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Jeremiah 25:33

    And 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.

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  • Psalms 83:10

    Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.

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  • Jeremiah 9:22

    Speak, 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 in context

  • Zephaniah 1:17

    And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

    Read in context

  • Jeremiah 34:20

    I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.

    Read in context

  • Jeremiah 22:18–19

    Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!

    Read in context

  • Jeremiah 15:2–3

    And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.

    Read in context

  • Jeremiah 7:33

    And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.

    Read in context