1And the word of יהוה came to me, saying,

2“Do not take a wife, nor have sons or daughters in this place.”

3For thus said יהוה concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bear them and their fathers who bring them forth in this land,

4“They shall die of deaths from diseases, they shall not be lamented nor be buried, but be like dung on the face of the earth, and be consumed by sword and by scarcity of food. And their corpses shall be meat for the birds of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth.”

5For thus said יהוה, “Do not enter the house of mourning, neither go to lament or mourn for them, for I have withdrawn My peace from this people,” declares יהוה, “even the kindness and the compassions.

6“Both great and small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried, and no one shall lament for them, or cut themselves, or make themselves bald for them.

7“Neither shall they break bread in mourning for them to comfort them for the dead, nor give them the cup of comfort to drink for their father or their mother.

8“Do not enter the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”

9For thus said יהוה of hosts, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, “See, before your eyes and in your days, I am making the voice of rejoicing and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride to cease in this place.

10“And it shall be, when you declare to this people all these words, and they shall say to you, ‘Why has יהוה pronounced all this great evil against us? And what is our crookedness, and what is our sin that we have committed against יהוה our Elohim?’

11then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ declares יהוה, ‘and have walked after other mighty ones and served them and bowed themselves to them, and have forsaken Me, and did not guard My Torah.

12‘And you have done more evil than your fathers, for look, each one walks according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me.

13‘So I shall throw you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers. And there you shall serve other mighty ones day and night, where I show you no favour.’

14“Therefore see, the days are coming,” declares יהוה, “when it is no longer said, ‘יהוה lives who brought up the children of Yisra’ĕl from the land of Mitsrayim,’

15but, ‘יהוה lives who brought up the children of Yisra’ĕl from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I shall bring them back into their land I gave to their fathers.

16“See, I am sending for many fishermen,” declares יהוה, “and they shall fish them. And after that I shall send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

17“For My eyes are on all their ways; they have not been hidden from My face, nor has their crookedness been hidden from My eyes.

18“And first I shall repay double for their crookedness and their sin, because they have defiled My land with the dead bodies of their disgusting matters, and have filled My inheritance with their abominations.”

19O יהוה, my strength and my stronghold and my refuge, in the day of distress the gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have inherited only falsehood, futility, and there is no value in them.”a

20Would a man make mighty ones for himself, which are not mighty ones?

21“Therefore see, I am causing them to know, this time I cause them to know My hand and My might. And they shall know that My Name is יהוה!”