Jeremiah 16:4

Jeremiah 16:4 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)“They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like dung lying on the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”

Context of Jeremiah 16:4

2“You shall not take a wife or have sons and daughters in this place (Jerusalem).” 3For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who give birth to them, and the fathers who father them in this land: “They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.” 5For thus says the Lord, “Do not enter a house of mourning, nor go to lament (express grief) or bemoan [the dead], for I have taken My peace away from this people,” says the Lord, “even My lovingkindness and compassion. 6Both great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, nor will they be lamented (mourned over with expressions of grief in death), nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them [in mourning].

Jeremiah 16:4 word by word

מְמוֹתֵ֨י תַחֲלֻאִ֜ים יָמֻ֗תוּ לֹ֤א יִסָּֽפְדוּ֙ וְלֹ֣א יִקָּבֵ֔רוּ לְדֹ֛מֶן עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָ֖ה יִֽהְי֑וּ וּבַחֶ֤רֶב וּבָֽרָעָב֙ יִכְל֔וּ וְהָיְתָ֤ה נִבְלָתָם֙ לְמַאֲכָ֔ל לְע֥וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וּלְבֶהֱמַ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• They shall dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• of grievousתַּחֲלֻאִיםtachălû' tachălû' · diseaseH8463
• deathsמָמוֹתmâmôth · deathH4463
• they shall not be lamentedסָפַדsâphad · to mournH5594
• neither shall they be buriedקָבַרqâbar · to buryH6912
• they shall be as dungדֹּ֫מֶןdômen · dungH1828
• upon the faceפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
• of the earthאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
• and they shall be consumedכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: destroyH3615
• by the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• and by famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
• and their carcasesנְבֵלָהnebêlâh · carcassH5038
• shall be meatמַאֲכָלma'ăkâl · foodH3978
• for the fowlsעוֹף‛ôph · birdH5775
• of heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• and for the beastsבְּהֵמָהbehêmâh · animalH929
• of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776

Cross-references for Jeremiah 16:4

• Jeremiah 14:16And the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword; and they will have no one to bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters. For I will pour out their [own] wickedness on them [and not only on the imposters posing as prophets, for the people could not have been deceived without their own consent].
• Jeremiah 15:2And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Those [destined] for death, to death; Those for the sword, to the sword; Those for famine, to famine; Those for captivity, to captivity.” ’
• Psalms 78:64His priests [Hophni and Phinehas] fell by the sword, And His widows could not weep.
• Jeremiah 16:5For thus says the Lord, “Do not enter a house of mourning, nor go to lament (express grief) or bemoan [the dead], for I have taken My peace away from this people,” says the Lord, “even My lovingkindness and compassion.
• Jeremiah 22:18Therefore thus says the Lord in regard to Jehoiakim the [second] son of Josiah, king of Judah, “The relatives will not lament (mourn over with expressions of grief) for him: ‘Alas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister,’ [how great our loss]! The subjects will not lament for him: ‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, majesty [how great was his glory]!’
• Jeremiah 25:33“And those slain by the Lord on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. They will not be lamented (mourned over with expressions of grief) or gathered or buried; they will be like dung on the ground.
• Amos 6:9And it shall come to pass that if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die [by the pestilence that comes with war].
• Jeremiah 7:33And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth and no one will frighten them away.
• Jeremiah 22:19He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey— Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
• Jeremiah 36:30Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, “He shall have no heir to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be thrown out to the heat of the day and to the frost of the night.
• Psalms 79:2They have given the dead bodies of Your servants as food to the birds of the heavens, The flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth.
• Jeremiah 8:1“At that time,” says the Lord, “they [the Babylonian army] will bring out from their graves the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
• Jeremiah 9:22Speak, “Thus says the Lord, ‘The dead bodies of men will fall like dung on the open field, And like sheaves [of grain] behind the reaper, And no one will gather them.’ ”
• 1 Kings 14:10therefore behold, I am bringing evil on the house (royal line) of Jeroboam, and I will cut off (destroy) from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free, in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone.
• 1 Kings 21:23The Lord also spoke in regard to Jezebel, saying, ‘The dogs will eat [the body of] Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.’
• 2 Kings 9:10And the dogs will eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and there will be no one to bury her.’ ” Then he opened the door and fled.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 16:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4They shall die of grievous deaths - All prematurely; see Jeremiah 14:16. As dung upon the face of the earth - See Jeremiah 8:2. Be meat for the fowls - See Jeremiah 7:33.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4Jeremiah's lack of children served as a lesson about the future. Soon, many children and parents would die, leaving no one to mourn or bury them.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. grievous deaths--rather, "deadly diseases" (Jr 15:2). not ... lamented--so many shall be the slain (Jr 22:18). dung--(Psa 83:10).Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 16:4

• Burial
• Death

In the dictionaries

• Carcass; Carcase
• Dung; Dung Gate
• Grievous; Grievously; Greievousness
• beast

Commentaries on Jeremiah 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings