New King James Version
Jeremiah 16:4
4“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.”
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 Living Translation (NLT)They 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.”
Context of Jeremiah 16:4
2“You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.” 3For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: “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.” 5For thus says the Lord: “Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the Lord, “lovingkindness and mercies. 6Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.
Read all of Jeremiah 16Jeremiah 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 prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’
- Jeremiah 15:2And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says 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.” ’
- Psalms 78:64Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.
- Jeremiah 16:5For thus says the Lord: “Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the Lord, “lovingkindness and mercies.
- Jeremiah 22:18Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “They shall not lament for him, Saying, ‘Alas, my brother!’ or ‘Alas, my sister!’ They shall not lament for him, Saying, ‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, his glory!’
- Jeremiah 25:33And at that day the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.
- Amos 6:9Then it shall come to pass, that if ten men remain in one house, they shall die.
- Jeremiah 7:33The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven 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 and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 36:30Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night.
- Psalms 79:2The dead bodies of Your servants They have given as food for the birds of the heavens, The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
- Jeremiah 8:1“At that time,” says the Lord, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves.
- Jeremiah 9:22Speak, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Even the carcasses of men shall fall as refuse on the open field, Like cuttings after the harvester, And no one shall gather them.’ ”
- 1 Kings 14:10therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free; I will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as one takes away refuse until it is all gone.
- 1 Kings 21:23And concerning Jezebel the Lord also spoke, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.’
- 2 Kings 9:10The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.’ ” And 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
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries