Jeremiah 16

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as fol ows:	1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 'You are not to marry or have sons and daughters in this place.	2 “You shall not take a wife, and there shall be no sons or daughters for you in this place.
3 For Yahweh says this regarding the sons and daughters to be born in this place, about the motherswho give birth to them, and about the fathers who beget them in this land,	3 For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are conceived in this place, and concerning their mothers who give birth to them, and concerning their fathers, from whose stock they have been born in this land:
4 "They wil die of deadly diseases, unlamented and unburied; they will be like dung spread on theground; they wil meet their end by sword and famine, and their corpses wil be food for the birds of the sky andthe beasts of earth."	4 They will die from grievous mortal illnesses. They will not be mourned, and they will not be buried. They will be like manure on the face of the earth. And they will be consumed by sword and by famine. And their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the land.”
5 'Yes, Yahweh says this, "Go into no house where there is mourning, do not go and lament or grievewith them; for I have withdrawn my peace from this people, Yahweh declares, and faithful love and pity too.	5 For thus says the Lord: “You shall not enter the house of feasting, and you shall not go to mourn or to console them. For I have taken away from this people, says the Lord, my peace, my mercy, and my pity.
6 High or low, they wil die in this country, without burial or lament; there wil be no gashing, no shaving ofthe head for them.	6 Both the great and the small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and they will not be mourned. And no one will cut themselves or make themselves bald on their behalf.
7 No bread will be broken for the mourner to comfort him for the dead; no cup of consolation wil beoffered him for his father or his mother.	7 And they will not break bread among themselves for the sake of him who mourns, so as to console him over the dead. And they will not give them a chalice to drink, so as to console them over their father and mother.
8 "And do not enter a house where there is feasting, to sit with them and eat and drink.	8 And so, you shall not enter the house of feasting, so as to sit with them, and to eat and drink.”
9 For Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this: In this place, before your eyes, in your own days, Iwil silence the shouts of rejoicing and mirth and the voices of bridegroom and bride.	9 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will take away from this place, in your sight and in your days, the voice of gladness and the voice of rejoicing, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.
10 "When you tel these people this and they ask you: Why has Yahweh decreed such complete andtotal disaster for us? What have we done wrong? What sin have we committed against Yahweh our God?	10 And when you announce all these words to this people, they will say to you: ‘Why would the Lord pronounce all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity and what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’
11 then you are to answer: It is because your ancestors abandoned me, Yahweh declares, and fol owedother gods, and served and worshipped them. They abandoned me and did not keep my Law.	11 And you shall say to them: It is because your fathers abandoned me, says the Lord. And they went after strange gods, and they served them and adored them. And they abandoned me, and they did not keep my law.
12 And you for your part have behaved even worse than your ancestors. Look, each of you fol ows hisown stubborn and wicked inclinations, without listening to me.	12 But you have acted even worse than your fathers. For behold, each one walks after the depravity of his own evil heart, so that he does not listen to me.
13 And so, I shal eject you from this country into a country unknown to you or to your ancestors, andthere you can serve other gods, day and night, for I shal show you no more favour."	13 And so, I will cast you out of this land, into a land that you do not know, and that your fathers did not know. And in that place, you will serve, day and night, strange gods who will not give you rest.
14 'Look, the days are coming, Yahweh declares, when people wil no longer say, "As Yahweh lives whobrought the Israelites out of Egypt!"	14 Therefore, behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who led the sons of Israel away from the land of Egypt,’
15 but, "As Yahweh lives who brought the Israelites back from the land of the north and al the countriesto which he had driven them." I shal bring them back to the very soil I gave their ancestors.'	15 but instead, ‘As the Lord lives, who led the sons of Israel away from the land of the north,’ and from all the lands to which I have cast them out. And I will lead them back into their own land, which I gave to their fathers.
16 'Watch, I shal send for many fishermen, Yahweh declares, and these wil fish them up; next, I shalsend for many huntsmen, and these wil hunt them out of every mountain, every hil , and out of the holes in therocks.	16 Behold, I will send many fishermen, says the Lord, and they will fish for them. And after this, I will send many hunters to them, and they will hunt for them on every mountain, and on every hilltop, and in the caverns of the rocks.
17 For my eyes watch al their ways, these are not hidden from me, and their guilt does not escape mygaze.	17 For my eyes are upon all their ways. They have not been hidden from my face, and their iniquity has not been concealed from my eyes.
18 I shal requite their guilt and their sin twice over, since they have pol uted my country with thecarcases of their Horrors, and fil ed my heritage with their Abominations.'	18 But first, I will repay their double iniquities and their sins. For they have defiled my land with the dead bodies of their idols, and they have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”
19 Yahweh, my strength, my stronghold, my refuge in time of distress! To you the nations wil come fromthe remotest parts of the earth and say, 'Our fathers inherited nothing but Delusion, Futility of no use whatever.	19 “O Lord, my strength, and my health, and my refuge in the day of tribulation: the Gentiles will approach you from the ends of the earth, and they will say: ‘Truly, our fathers possessed a lie, an emptiness that has not benefited them.’
20 Can human beings make their own gods? These are not gods at al !'	20 How can man make gods for himself, though these are not gods?”
21 'Now listen, I will make them acknowledge, this time I wil make them acknowledge my hand and mymight; and then they wil know that Yahweh is my name.'	21 “Concerning this, behold: I will make it clear to them, in this turn. I will reveal to them my hand and my virtue. And they will know that the Lord is my name.”