Bible Strands
Jeremiah 14:16
And the people to whom they prophesy will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour out their own evil upon them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through Jeremiah to Judah during a severe drought and national crisis. He addresses the false prophets and the populace who trust their unauthorized messages.
The words — The Hebrew מֻשְׁלָכִים (mush.la.khim) literally means "thrown out," describing how famine and sword victims will be exposed in Jerusalem's streets. The phrase וְ/הָ/עָם (ve./ha./'am) translates to "and the people," identifying the specific recipients of the prophets' lies.
The thread — The exposure of unburied corpses to scavengers recurs in Jeremiah 7:33 and Psalm 79:2. The principle of consuming the results of one's own choices parallels Proverbs 1:31.
Why it lands — The text states that unburied bodies will lie in the streets and that God will repay the people with their own evil. It requires readers to abandon comforting falsehoods and accept the direct consequences of trusting unauthorized voices.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
Cross-references
- Psalms 79:2 They have given the corpses of Your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth.
- Proverbs 1:31 So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
- Jeremiah 7:33 The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.
- Jeremiah 15:2 If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword; those destined for famine, to famine; and those destined for captivity, to captivity.’
- Jeremiah 13:22 And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” It is because of the magnitude of your iniquity that your skirts have been stripped off and your body has been exposed.
- Jeremiah 16:4 “They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth.”
- Jeremiah 18:21 Therefore, hand their children over to famine; pour out the power of the sword upon them. Let their wives become childless and widowed; let their husbands be slain by disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
- Isaiah 9:16 For those who guide this people mislead them, and those they mislead are swallowed up.
- Jeremiah 2:17 Have you not brought this on yourself by forsaking the LORD your God when He led you in the way?
- Jeremiah 4:18 “Your ways and deeds have brought this upon you. This is your punishment; how bitter it is, because it pierces to the heart!”