| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1The LORD gave me another message. He said, | 1Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, |
| 2“Do not get married or have children in this place. | 2“You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place.” |
| 3For this is what the LORD says about the children born here in this city and about their mothers and fathers: | 3For this is what the LORD says concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and the mothers who bore them, and the fathers who fathered them in this land: |
| 4They will die from terrible diseases. No one will mourn for them or bury them, and they will lie scattered on the ground like manure. They will die from war and famine, and their bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals.” Judah’s Coming Punishment | 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.” |
| 5This is what the LORD says: “Do not go to funerals to mourn and show sympathy for these people, for I have removed my protection and peace from them. I have taken away my unfailing love and my mercy. | 5Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal. Do not go to mourn or show sympathy, for I have removed from this people My peace, My loving devotion, and My compassion,” declares the LORD. |
| 6Both the great and the lowly will die in this land. No one will bury them or mourn for them. Their friends will not cut themselves in sorrow or shave their heads in sadness. | 6“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. |
| 7No one will offer a meal to comfort those who mourn for the dead—not even at the death of a mother or father. No one will send a cup of wine to console them. | 7No food will be offered to comfort those who mourn the dead; not even a cup of consolation will be given for the loss of a father or mother. |
| 8“And do not go to their feasts and parties. Do not eat and drink with them at all. | 8You must not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down with them to eat and drink. |
| 9For this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: In your own lifetime, before your very eyes, I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in this land. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. | 9For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to remove from this place, before your very eyes and in your days, the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom. |
| 10“When you tell the people all these things, they will ask, ‘Why has the LORD decreed such terrible things against us? What have we done to deserve such treatment? What is our sin against the LORD our God?’ | 10When you tell these people all these things, they will ask you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? What is our guilt? What is the sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’ |
| 11“Then you will give them the LORD’s reply: ‘It is because your ancestors were unfaithful to me. They worshiped other gods and served them. They abandoned me and did not obey my word. | 11Then you are to answer them: ‘It is because your fathers have forsaken Me, declares the LORD, and followed other gods, and served and worshiped them. They abandoned Me and did not keep My instruction. |
| 12And you are even worse than your ancestors! You stubbornly follow your own evil desires and refuse to listen to me. | 12And you have done more evil than your fathers. See how each of you follows the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying Me. |
| 13So I will throw you out of this land and send you into a foreign land where you and your ancestors have never been. There you can worship idols day and night—and I will grant you no favors!’ Hope despite the Disaster | 13So I will cast you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’ |
| 14“But the time is coming,” says the LORD, “when people who are taking an oath will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’ | 14Yet behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt.’ |
| 15Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ For I will bring them back to this land that I gave their ancestors. | 15Instead they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and all the other lands to which He had banished them.’ For I will return them to their land that I gave to their forefathers. |
| 16“But now I am sending for many fishermen who will catch them,” says the LORD. “I am sending for hunters who will hunt them down in the mountains, hills, and caves. | 16But for now I will send for many fishermen, declares the LORD, and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill, even from the clefts of the rocks. |
| 17I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me. | 17For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their guilt is not concealed from My eyes. |
| 18I will double their punishment for all their sins, because they have defiled my land with lifeless images of their detestable gods and have filled my territory with their evil deeds.” Jeremiah’s Prayer of Confidence | 18And I will first repay them double their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and they have filled My inheritance with their abominations.” |
| 19LORD, you are my strength and fortress, my refuge in the day of trouble! Nations from around the world will come to you and say, “Our ancestors left us a foolish heritage, for they worshiped worthless idols. | 19O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress, the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, “Our fathers inherited nothing but lies, worthless idols of no benefit at all. |
| 20Can people make their own gods? These are not real gods at all!” | 20Can man make gods for himself? Such are not gods!” |
| 21The LORD says, “Now I will show them my power; now I will show them my might. At last they will know and understand that I am the LORD. | 21“Therefore behold, I will inform them, and this time I will make them know My power and My might; then they will know that My name is the LORD. |
|
