1 ¶ The word of the LORD also came to me, saying,

2 You shall not marry, or have sons or daughters in this place.

3 For this is what the LORD says concerning 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;

4 They will die grievous deaths; they will not be mourned; or buried; but will be like dung upon the face of the earth: and they will be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcasses will be food for the birds of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

5 For the LORD says, Do not enter into the house of mourning, or go to lament or show grief for them: for I have withdrawn my peace from these people, says the LORD, even my loving-kindness and mercy.

6 Both old and young will die in this land: they will not be buried, nor will men mourn for them, or cut themselves, or make themselves bald for them:

7 Nor will men prepare food for those who mourn, to comfort them about the dead; nor will men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.

8 You should not even go into a home where there is a banquet, to sit with them and eat and to drink.

9 For the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel says; I am about to eliminate from this place before your eyes, and in your lifetime, the sound of joy, and the sound of happiness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.

10 ¶ And when you tell these people all these things, and they ask you, Why has the LORD decreed all this great evil against us? or what have we done wrong? or what sin have we committed against the LORD our God?

11 Then you will say to them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, says the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;

12 And you have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, you each follow the things that your evil heart imagines, which keeps you from listening to me:

13 Therefore I will throw you out of this country into a land that you do not know, nor did your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night; because I will no longer have pity on you.

14 ¶ Therefore, the time comes, says the LORD, that it will no longer be said, The LORD lives, who brought the children of Israel up out of the land of Egypt;

15 But, The LORD lives, who brought the children of Israel back from the land of the north, and from all the lands where he had driven them: and I will bring them back to their country that I gave to their fathers.

16 Behold, I will send for many fishermen, says the LORD, and they will fish for them; and after that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt for them on every mountain, and on every hill, and in the clefts the rocks.

17 For my eyes are on all their ways: they are not hidden from my face, nor is their sin hidden from my eyes.

18 But first I will repay them double for their guilt and sin; because they have polluted my land, they have filled my inheritance with the lifeless images of their detestable idols.

19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of trouble, the Gentiles will come to you from the ends of the earth, and will say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, empty superstition, and things which have no value.

20 Can a man make gods for himself? They are not gods?

21 Therefore, behold, This once I will make them know, I will cause them to know my power and my might; and they will know that my name is Jahweh.