📖 Jeremiah — Chapter 16 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Jeremiah 16:1 RThe word of the LORD came also unto me, saying,
Jeremiah 16:2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.
Jeremiah 16:3 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;
Jeremiah 16:4 They shall Rdie 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.
Jeremiah 16:5 For thus saith the LORD, REnter not into the house of Tmourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies.
Jeremiah 16:6 Both Rthe 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:
Jeremiah 16:7 Neither shall men RTtear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
Jeremiah 16:8 Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.
Jeremiah 16:9 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, RI will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.
Jeremiah 16:10 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, RWherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?
Jeremiah 16:11 Then shalt thou say unto them, RBecause your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;
Jeremiah 16:12 And ye have done Rworse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the Timagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:
Jeremiah 16:13 Therefore Rwill I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.
Jeremiah 16:14 Therefore, Rbehold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
Jeremiah 16:15 But, The LORD liveth, Rthat brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
Jeremiah 16:16 Behold, RI will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
Jeremiah 16:17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
Jeremiah 16:18 And Rfirst I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.
Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, Rmy strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.
Jeremiah 16:20 RShall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?
Jeremiah 16:21 Therefore, behold, RI will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is TThe LORD.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Jeremiah 16:1–7 — Jeremiah’s household becomes a sign
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The prophet is told not to marry or have children in this place and not to join customary mourning. These commands to Jeremiah signify the coming loss of families and ordinary consolation.
Key Truth: Read the prophet’s sign within its specific setting.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “The ____ of the LORD came also unto me, saying,” (Jeremiah 16:1)
Find it in Jeremiah 16:1 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “They shall die of ____ deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be …” (Jeremiah 16:4)
Find it in Jeremiah 16:4 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “… give them the cup of consolation to drink for their ____ or for their mother.” (Jeremiah 16:7)
Find it in Jeremiah 16:7 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Jeremiah 16:8–14 — Joy withdrawn and rebellion explained
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Jeremiah must also refrain from feasting. When people ask why disaster is announced, the answer names ancestral idolatry and the present generation’s even greater refusal to hear.
Key Truth: Examine present conduct rather than blaming only the past.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “Thou ____ not also go into the house of feasting, to sit …” (Jeremiah 16:8)
Find it in Jeremiah 16:8 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “… them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my ____ ;” (Jeremiah 16:11)
Find it in Jeremiah 16:11 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “… more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the ____ of Israel out of the land of Egypt;” (Jeremiah 16:14)
Find it in Jeremiah 16:14 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Jeremiah 16:15–21 — Return promised and idols exposed
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
A return from northern and other lands will become a new testimony of deliverance. Judgment still confronts hidden guilt, while the nations recognize inherited lies and learn the Lord’s name and power.
Key Truth: Receive hope without denying accountability.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the ____ of Israel from the land of the north, and from …” (Jeremiah 16:15)
Find it in Jeremiah 16:15 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “And ____ I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because …” (Jeremiah 16:18)
Find it in Jeremiah 16:18 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “Therefore, ____ , I will this once cause them to know, I …” (Jeremiah 16:21)
Find it in Jeremiah 16:21 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Isaiah 43:5 — The Lord also promises to gather his people from far directions.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
What present choice should you change rather than explaining it through others’ failures?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. How should the command not to marry be understood in its immediate setting?
2. Why is Jeremiah told not to enter the house of mourning?
3. How does the present generation compare with its fathers?
4. How does the promised return enlarge the remembered deliverance?
5. What limits the people’s ability to conceal wrongdoing?
Notes
Write what you want to remember, questions to explore, or Scriptures to look up later. Your saved notes are private to your account.
Loading your notes…
Chapter Navigation