# Jeremiah 16 š: Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#š Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#š Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#š¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#š§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#āļø Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#š Key Principles / š Life Application]]
> [[#š¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#āļø Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#š Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#š Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#š Internal Notes]]
## š Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry, to Mourn, or to Feast
[[#Verse 01.]]Ā TheĀ Lordās message came to me,Ā
[[#Verse 02.]]Ā āDo not get married and do not have children here in this land.Ā
[[#Verse 03.]]Ā For I, theĀ Lord, tell you what will happen toĀ the children who are born here in this land and to the men and women who are their mothers and fathers.Ā
[[#Verse 04.]]Ā They will die of deadly diseases. No one will mourn for them. They will not be buried. Their dead bodies will lie like manure spread on the ground. They will be killed in war or die of starvation. Their corpses will be food for the birds and wild animals.
[[#Verse 05.]] āMoreover I, the Lord, tell you: āDo not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them. For I have stopped showing them my good favor, my love, and my compassion. I, the Lord, so affirm it!
[[#Verse 06.]]Ā Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them.Ā
[[#Verse 07.]]Ā No one will take any food to those who mourn for the dead to comfort them. No one will give them any wine to drink to console them for the loss of their father or mother.
[[#Verse 08.]]Ā āāDo not go to a house where people are feasting and sit down to eat and drink with them either.Ā
[[#Verse 09.]]Ā For I, theĀ LordĀ of Heavenās Armies, the God of Israel, tell you what will happen.Ā I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in this land. You and the rest of the people will live to see this happen.ā
### The Lord Promises Exile But Also Restoration
[[#Verse 10.]]Ā āWhen you tell these people about all this,Ā they will undoubtedly ask you, āWhy has theĀ LordĀ threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend theĀ LordĀ our God?āĀ
[[#Verse 11.]]Ā Then tell them that theĀ LordĀ says,Ā āIt is because your ancestorsĀ rejected me and paid allegiance toĀ other gods. They have served them and worshiped them. But they have rejected me and not obeyed my law.
[[#Verse 12.]]Ā And you have acted even more wickedly than your ancestors! Each one of you has followed the stubborn inclinations of your own wicked heart and not obeyed me.Ā
[[#Verse 13.]]Ā So I will throw you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have ever known. There you must worship other gods day and night, for I will show you no mercy.āā
[[#Verse 14.]]Ā YetĀ I, theĀ Lord, say:Ā āA new time will certainly come.Ā People now affirm their oaths with āI swear as surely as theĀ LordĀ lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.āĀ
[[#Verse 15.]] But in that time they will affirm them with āI swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.ā At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.
[[#Verse 16.]]Ā But for now I, theĀ Lord, say:Ā āI will send many enemies who will catch these people like fishermen. After that I will send others who will hunt them out like hunters from all the mountains, all the hills, and the crevices in the rocks.Ā
[[#Verse 17.]]Ā For I see everything they do. Their wicked ways are not hidden from me. Their sin is not hidden away where I cannot see it.Ā
[[#Verse 18.]]Ā Before I restore themĀ I will punish them in fullĀ for their sins and the wrongs they have done. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my ownĀ with their detestable idols.ā
[[#Verse 19.]]Ā Then I said,
āLord, you give me strength and protect me.
You are the one I can run to for safety when I am in trouble.
Nations from all over the earth
will come to you and say,
āOur ancestors had nothing but false godsā
worthless idols that could not help them at all.ā
[[#Verse 20.]]Ā Can people make their own gods?
No, what they make are not gods at all.ā
[[#Verse 21.]]Ā TheĀ LordĀ said,
āSo I will now let this wicked people knowā
I will let them know my mighty power in judgment.
Then they will know that my name is theĀ Lord.
## š Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
## š¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Jeremiah is the only prophet commanded by God not to marry (16:2).
2. In ancient Israel, being unmarried and childless was unusual and could be seen as a disgrace.
3. Jeremiah was not to enter a house of mourning (16:5), a sign that the coming deaths would be too many to mourn properly.
4. Cutting oneself or shaving the head for the dead (16:6) was a pagan practice forbidden in the law (Leviticus 19:28; Deuteronomy 14:1).
5. Friends broke bread and gave a "cup of consolation" to mourners (16:7), a custom of comfort.
6. Jeremiah was also forbidden to join in feasting (16:8), showing that joy would be silenced.
7. The promise of a new exodus in 16:14-15 is repeated in 23:7-8.
8. In 16:16 the fishermen and hunters are images of judgment, catching those trying to hide.
9. God says He will repay their sin double (16:18). The same word appears in Isaiah 40:2, where Jerusalem has received double for all her sins.
10. Jeremiah 16:19 looks ahead to the nations turning from idols to the Lord.
## š§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## āļø Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Redeemer who leads a greater exodus than Egypt (16:14-15). Luke calls Jesus' coming death His "departure" (Luke 9:31), and through Him people from the ends of the earth come to the Lord (16:19).
## š Key Principles / š Life Application
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## š¬ Discussion Questions
1. God told Jeremiah not to marry, mourn, or feast (16:2, 5, 8). How did his whole life become a message to his people?
2. God promised a new exodus so great it would overshadow the first (16:14-15). How does the gospel fulfill that promise?
3. The nations will come and admit their fathers inherited only lies (16:19). What lies have you inherited that God has replaced with truth?
## āļø Key Verses to Remember
- š verse 2: Jeremiah is told not to take a wife or have sons and daughters in this place.
- š verses 14-15: People will speak of the Lord who brought Israel back from the north, not only from Egypt.
- š verse 19: The Lord is my strength and refuge, and the nations will come to Him from the ends of the earth.
## š Related Passages/Cross Reference
- š [[Luke 09#Verse 30.|Luke 9:30-31]] - Moses and Elijah speak of Jesus' departure (exodus).
- š [[1 Corinthians 07#Verse 26.|1 Corinthians 7:26-32]] - Paul speaks about singleness in a time of distress.
- š [[Isaiah 43#Verse 18.|Isaiah 43:18-19]] - Forget the former things; I am doing something new.
- š [[Acts 14#Verse 15.|Acts 14:15]] - Turn from worthless things to the living God.
- š [[1 Thessalonians 01#Verse 09.|1 Thessalonians 1:9]] - You turned to God from idols.
## š Devotional Reflection
š SOAP: [[Jeremiah 16 - SOAP|Our Umbrella]]
## š Internal Notes