TRV
Translation
King James Version
Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.
American Standard Version
Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters, in this place.
World English Bible Messianic
You shall not take a wife, neither shall you have sons or daughters, in this place.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Thou shalt not take thee a wife, nor haue sonnes nor daughters in this place.
Young's Literal Translation
Thou dost not take to thee a wife, Nor hast thou sons and daughters in this place.
In the KJVVerse 19,339 of 31,102
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Commentary on Jeremiah 16 verses 1–9
1 ¶ The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying,
2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.
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;
4 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.
5 For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies.
6 Both the 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:
7 Neither shall men tear 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.
8 Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.
9 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I 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.
The prophet is here for a sign to the people. They would not regard what he said; let it be tried whether they will regard what he does. In general, he must conduct himself so, in every thing, as became one that expected to see his country in ruins very shortly. This he foretold, but few regarded the prediction; therefore he is to show that he is himself fully satisfied in the truth of it. Others go on in their usual course, but he, in the prospect of these sad times, is forbidden and therefore forbears marriage, mourning for the dead, and mirth. Note, Those that would convince others of and affect them with the word of God must make it appear, even in the most self-denying instances, that they do believe it themselves and are affected with it. If we would rouse others out of their security, and persuade them to sit loose to the world, we must ourselves be mortified to present things and show that we expect the dissolution of them.
I. Jeremiah must not marry, nor think of having a family and being a housekeeper (Jer 16:2): Thou shalt not take thee a wife, nor think of having sons and daughters in this place, not in the land of Judah, not in Jerusalem, not in Anathoth. The Jews, more than any people, valued themselves on their early marriages and their numerous offspring. But Jeremiah must live a bachelor, not so much in honour of virginity as in diminution of it. By this it appears that it was advisable and seasonable only in calamitous times, and times of present distress, Co1 7:26. That it is so is a part of the calamity. There may be a time when it will be said, Blessed is the womb that bears not, Luk 23:29. When we see such times at hand it is wisdom for all, especially for prophets, to keep themselves as much as may be from being entangled with the affairs of this life and encumbered with that which, the dearer it is to them, the more it will be the matter of their care, and fear, and grief, at such a time. The reason here given is because the fathers and mothers, the sons and the daughters, shall die of grievous deaths, Jer 16:3, Jer 16:4. As for those that have wives and children, 1. They will have such a clog upon them that they cannot flee from those deaths. A single man may make his escape and shift for his own safety, when he that has a wife and children can neither find means to convey with them nor find in his heart to go and leave them behind him. 2. They will be in continual terror for fear of those deaths; and the more they have to lose by them the greater will the terror and consternation be when death appears every where in its triumphant pomp and power. 3. The death of every child, and the aggravating circumstances of it, will be a new death to the parent. Better have no children than have them brought forth and bred up for the murderer (Hos 9:13, Hos 9:14), than see them live and die in misery. Death is grievous, but some deaths are more grievous than others, both to those that die and to their relations that survive them; hence we read of so great a death, Co2 1:10. Two things are used a little to palliate and alleviate the terror of death as to this world, and to sugar the bitter pill - bewailing the dead and burying them; but, to make those deaths grievous indeed, these are denied: They shall not be lamented, but shall be carried off, as if all the world were weary of them; nay, they shall not be buried, but left exposed, as if they were designed to be monuments of justice. They shall be a dung upon the face of the earth, not only despicable, but detestable, as if they were good for nothing but to manure the ground; being consumed, some by the sword and some by famine, their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven and the beasts of the earth. Will not any one say, "Better be without children than live to see them come to this?" What reason have we to say,All is vanity and vexation of spirit, when those creatures that we expect to be our greatest comforts may prove not only our heaviest cares, but our sorest crosses!
II. Jeremiah must not go to the house of mourning upon occasion of the death of any of his neighbours or relations (Jer 16:5): Enter thou not into the house of mourning. It was usual to condole with those whose relations were dead, to bemoan them, to cut themselves, and make themselves bald, which, it seems, was commonly practised as an expression of mourning, though forbidden by the law, Deu 14:1. Nay, sometimes, in a passion of grief, they did tear themselves for them (Jer 16:6, Jer 16:7), partly in honour of the deceased, thus signifying that they thought there was a great loss of them, and partly in compassion to the surviving relations, to whom the burden will be made the lighter by their having sharers with them in their grief. They used to mourn with them, and so to comfort them for the dead, as Job's friends with him and the Jews with Martha and Mary; and it was a friendly office to give them a cup of consolation to drink, to provide cordials for them and press them earnestly to drink of them for the support of their spirits, give wine to those that are of heavy heart for their father or mother, that it may be some comfort to them to find that, though they have lost their parents, yet they have some friends left that have a concern for them. Thus the usage stood, and it was a laudable usage. It is a good work to others, as well as of good use to ourselves, to go to the house of mourning. It seems, the prophet Jeremiah had been wont to abound in good offices of this kind, and it well became his character both as a pious man and as a prophet; and one would think it should have made him better beloved among his people than it should seem he was. But now God bids him not lament the death of his friends as usual, for 1. His sorrow for the destruction of his country in general must swallow up his sorrow for particular deaths. His tears must now be turned into another channel; and there is occasion enough for them all. 2. He had little reason to lament those who died now just before the judgments entered which he saw at the door, but rather to think those happy who were seasonable taken away from the evil to come. 3. This was to be a type of what was coming, when there should be such universal confusion that all neighbourly friendly offices should be neglected. Men shall be in deaths so often, and even dying daily, that they shall have no time, no room, no heart, for the ceremonies that used to attend death. The sorrows shall be so ponderous as not to admit relief, and every one so full of grief for his own troubles that he shall have no thought of his neighbours. All shall be mourners then, and no comforters; every one will find it enough to bear his own burden; for (Jer 16:5), "I have taken away my peace from this people, put a full period to their prosperity, deprived them of health, wealth, and quiet, and friends, and every thing wherewith they might comfort themselves and one another." Whatever peace we enjoy, it is God's peace; it is his gift, and, if he give quietness, who then can make trouble? But, if we make not a good use of his peace, he can and will take it away; and where are we then? Job 34:29. "I will take away my peace, even my loving-kindness and mercies;" these shall be shut up and restrained, which are the fresh springs from which all their fresh streams flow, and then farewell all good. Note, Those have cut themselves off from all true peace that have thrown themselves out of the favour of God. All is gone when God takes away from us his lovingkindness and his mercies. Then it follows (Jer 16:6), Both the great and the small shall die, even in this land, the land of Canaan, that used to be called the land of the living. God's favour is our life; take away that, and we die, we perish, we all perish.
III. Jeremiah must not go to the house of mirth, any more than to the house of mourning, Jer 16:8. It had been his custom, and it was innocent enough, when any of his friends made entertainments at their houses and invited him to them, to go and sit with them, not merely to drink, but to eat and to drink, soberly and cheerfully. But now he must not take that liberty, 1. Because it was unseasonable, and inconsistent with the providences of God in reference to that land and nation. God called aloud to weeping, and mourning, and fasting; he was coming forth against them in his judgments; and it was time for them to humble themselves; and it well became the prophet who gave them the warning to give them an example of taking the warning, and complying with it, and so to make it appear that he did himself believe it. Ministers ought to be examples of self-denial and mortification, and to show themselves affected with those terrors of the Lord with which they desire to affect others. And it becomes all the sons of Zion to sympathize with her in her afflictions, and not to be merry when she is perplexed, Amo 6:6. 2. Because he must thus show the people what sad times were coming upon them. His friends wondered that he would not meet them, as he used to do, in the house of feasting. But he lets them know it was to intimate to them that all their feasting would be at an end shortly (Jer 16:9): "I will cause to cease the voice of mirth. You shall have nothing to feast on, nothing to rejoice in, but be surrounded with calamities that shall mar your mirth and cast a damp upon it." God can find ways to tame the most jovial. "This shall be done in this place, in Jerusalem, that used to be the joyous city and thought her joys were all secure to her. It shall be done in your eyes, in your sight, to be a vexation to you, who now look so haughty and so merry. It shall be done in your days; you yourselves shall live to see it." The voice of praise they had made to cease by their iniquities and idolatries, and therefore justly God made to cease among them the voice of mirth and gladness. The voice of God's prophets was not heard, was not heeded, among them, and therefore no longer shall the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride, of the songs that used to grace the nuptials, be heard among them. See Jer 7:34.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–9. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Jeremiah
(Chapter XVI—Verse 1 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Do not take a wife, and there shall not be sons and daughters for you in this place. For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and concerning their fathers, from whose lineage they were born in this land, they shall die by the deaths of sickness: they shall not be mourned, nor shall they be buried; they shall be like dung on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. If, in the time of impending captivity, the prophet is forbidden to take a wife, so as not to have the affliction of the flesh; and if he is also tormented by the sorrow of his own wife and the miseries of his children, how much more does the Apostle command (I Cor. VII) that, because the time is shortened and the consummation is at hand, even those who have wives should be as if they had none! Hence the superfluous reproach of the new heretics (Jovinians), by which we have taught that bigamy and trigamy do not come from the law, but from indulgence. For it is one thing to do what is good in itself, another to concede something so as not to do worse. For he himself gives the reasons why he wants young widows to marry, saying: For some of them have already gone astray after Satan (I Tim. 5:15). At the same time, as a teacher of self-control and perpetual chastity, he praises three or four marriages, which I will not so much call marriages as comforts for the wretched and the last hope for shipwrecked souls. Unless perhaps he grants indulgence to his Amazons, that they may experience the wars of desire until decrepit old age. But why the Prophet is prevented from taking a wife is clear, because with the nearby siege, pestilence, sword, and famine, all perish, and such is the number of the dying that the duty of burial is surpassed, but the bodies lie like dung to be torn apart by birds and beasts. And it should be noted that to waste away with sickness and long infirmity is the wrath of God. Thus, Joram son of Josaphat is consumed by illness (2 Chronicles 21). And the Apostle teaches that those who violate holy things become sick, waste away, and die (I Cor. XI).
JeromeAD 420
LETTER 22.21
Elijah lived a virgin life; so also did Elisha and many of the sons of the prophets. To Jeremiah the command came: “You will not take a wife.” He had been sanctified in his mother’s womb, and now he was forbidden to take a wife because the captivity was near. The apostle gives the same counsel in different words: “I think, therefore, that this is good by reason of the present distress, namely, that it is good for a person to be as he is.” What is this distress that does away with the joys of wedlock? The apostle tells us, in a later verse: “The time is short. It remains that those who have wives be as though they had none.”
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Jeremiah 16:2 delivers a stark and profoundly counter-cultural divine mandate to the prophet Jeremiah: "Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place." This command transforms Jeremiah's personal life into a potent, living parable, serving as a visceral and undeniable sign of the severe and impending judgment God was poised to unleash upon the nation of Judah. His forced celibacy and childlessness were not merely personal restrictions but a powerful prophetic act designed to underscore the complete desolation, the radical disruption of family life, and the utter loss of future that awaited a disobedient and rebellious people.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 16:2 is profoundly rich in Symbolism, transforming Jeremiah's personal life into a potent and unsettling prophetic sign-act. His divinely mandated celibacy and childlessness are not merely personal restrictions but a visible, tangible, and deeply disturbing representation of the national desolation and the tragic severing of future generations that will inevitably befall Judah. This makes Jeremiah's very existence a Living Parable, a non-verbal, embodied sermon that would have been deeply unsettling and counter-intuitive in a culture that profoundly valued family, progeny, and the continuation of one's lineage. The verse also employs powerful Foreshadowing, as Jeremiah's individual experience of a truncated future directly and ominously anticipates the collective, catastrophic fate of the nation. The directness and unyielding nature of the Divine Command ("Thou shalt not...") further underscore God's absolute authority and the non-negotiable severity of His impending judgment, leaving no room for misinterpretation of the gravity of the coming wrath.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This divine command to Jeremiah highlights the profound theological truth that God's message is not merely an intellectual proposition but is often incarnated, sometimes at great personal cost, in the lives of His chosen messengers. Jeremiah's personal sacrifice of family life served as a stark, unavoidable visual aid to the terrifying severity of God's judgment against Judah's persistent idolatry, covenant unfaithfulness, and social injustice. It powerfully underscores that sin has real, tangible, and devastating consequences, not just for individuals but for entire communities, disrupting even the most fundamental and cherished aspects of human existence like family, continuity, and future generations. The command also profoundly reveals God's willingness to use unconventional and personally costly means to communicate His truth, demanding radical obedience and profound personal sacrifice from His chosen servants to awaken a complacent and rebellious people to the gravity of their spiritual condition and the impending divine wrath.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 16:2 stands as a powerful and sobering testament to the gravity of God's judgment against sin and the extraordinary, sometimes personally demanding, calls He places on His servants for the sake of His sovereign purposes. For contemporary believers, this passage challenges us to deeply consider the depth of our commitment to God's revealed will, even when it calls for significant personal sacrifice, discomfort, or a counter-cultural mode of living. Are we truly willing to embody God's truth in our daily lives, allowing our choices, our circumstances, and even our personal sacrifices to serve as a compelling witness to a world desperately in need of divine perspective and eternal truth? It also prompts us to soberly reflect on the profound consequences of both individual and corporate sin, recognizing that God's warnings are not to be taken lightly or dismissed. Ultimately, this passage encourages us to live lives of faithful, radical obedience, understanding that our witness, however unconventional or personally costly, can powerfully communicate God's truth to those around us, urging them towards repentance, reconciliation, and genuine relationship with Him.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did God command Jeremiah not to marry or have children?
Answer: God commanded Jeremiah to remain unmarried and childless not as a personal punishment for the prophet, but as a profoundly impactful prophetic sign-act for the nation of Judah. In a culture where marriage and family were highly valued as divine blessings and essential for societal continuity, Jeremiah's celibacy dramatically symbolized the impending desolation, the radical disruption of family life, and the severing of future generations that God would bring upon Judah due to their persistent idolatry and covenant unfaithfulness. It was a visible, living parable designed to shock the people into recognizing the terrifying severity of the coming judgment, where normal life—including the joy and continuity of raising families—would utterly cease "in this place" (Jeremiah 16:2).
Was Jeremiah's celibacy a punishment for him?
Answer: No, Jeremiah's celibacy was not a punishment for him in the sense of divine retribution for personal sin. Instead, it was a unique, demanding, and integral aspect of his prophetic calling. While it undoubtedly involved profound personal sacrifice, loneliness, and perhaps even social misunderstanding, it was a divinely appointed role that transformed his very life into a powerful, embodied message. God frequently used the personal lives and circumstances of His prophets (e.g., Hosea's symbolic marriage to an unfaithful wife, Ezekiel's symbolic loss of his beloved wife) to communicate His will and the dire consequences of sin to a rebellious people. Jeremiah's obedience, though personally costly, was an act of profound faithfulness to his divine mission.
What is the significance of "in this place" in Jeremiah 16:2?
Answer: The phrase "in this place" (Hebrew: ba-maqom ha-zeh) is profoundly significant. It specifically refers to the land of Judah and its capital, Jerusalem, the very heart of the rebellious nation. This geographical specificity emphatically underscores that the impending judgment and desolation, powerfully symbolized by Jeremiah's childlessness, were not a universal principle but a particular, localized, and inescapable consequence for the people dwelling in that land due to their specific and unrepentant sins. It highlighted that life as they knew it, including the ability to marry, raise families, and experience the normal rhythms of society, would be utterly shattered within their own homeland, leading to widespread death and a lack of proper burial (Jeremiah 16:3-4).
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Jeremiah's celibacy was a specific sign of impending judgment for a particular people and place, it finds profound Christ-centered fulfillment and resonance in several transformative ways. Jesus, though not explicitly commanded to be celibate as a prophetic sign-act in the same manner as Jeremiah, lived a life of singular and absolute devotion to His Father's will, which included forgoing marriage and earthly family in pursuit of His divine mission. His entire life, culminating in His sacrificial death, was the ultimate "living parable," perfectly embodying God's truth, His unconditional love, and the ultimate judgment against sin. Jeremiah's personal desolation and the disruption of future generations foreshadowed the ultimate desolation, suffering, and separation that Jesus would endure on the cross, where He became the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, bearing the full weight of God's righteous judgment against humanity's rebellion. Furthermore, the New Covenant, inaugurated by Christ's atoning work, radically redefines family not by biological lineage or earthly continuity, but by spiritual kinship through faith in Him (Mark 3:35). The call to costly discipleship in the New Testament often echoes the radical obedience seen in Jeremiah, with Jesus Himself stating that true followers must be willing to forsake family and earthly ties for His sake and the gospel's. Thus, Jeremiah's life as a sign points forward to Christ, who perfectly fulfilled the Father's will, endured the ultimate judgment for sin, and through His glorious resurrection, offers a new, eternal hope that transcends any earthly desolation, establishing a spiritual family—the Church—that will never be cut off and will endure forever (Ephesians 2:19).