Bible Strands
Jeremiah 16:2
“You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God speaks directly to Jeremiah at the moment He commissions him with a prophetic sign-act.
The words — The command hinges on תִקַּ֥ח (ti.Kach), meaning "you must take" a wife (אִשָּׁ֑ה), and יִהְי֤וּ (yih.Yu), meaning "they will belong," for sons (בָּנִ֣ים) and daughters (בָּנ֔וֹת) in this specific place (מָקוֹם).
The thread — This prohibition against family formation in Judah parallels the distress described for pregnant women in Luke 21:23 and the barrenness lament in Luke 23:29, while standing in contrast to the marital alliances mentioned in Genesis 19:14.
Why it lands — The text commands Jeremiah to abstain from marriage and childbearing to visibly demonstrate that future generations will face judgment rather than blessing in the land.
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
Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.
Cross-references
- Genesis 19:14 So Lot went out and spoke to the sons-in-law who were pledged in marriage to his daughters. “Get up,” he said. “Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.
- Luke 21:23 How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people.
- Luke 23:29 Look, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore, and breasts that never nursed!’
- 1 Corinthians 7:26 Because of the present crisis, I think it is good for a man to remain as he is.
- Matthew 24:19 How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers!