Jeremiah 16:6

“Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jeremiah delivers this declaration to the remnant in Judah during the final years before the Babylonian conquest. God commands the prophet to prohibit all traditional mourning rites as a visible sign that His compassion has been withdrawn.

The words — The Hebrew terms גְדֹלִים (gedolim) and קְטַנִּים (qetannim) literally mean "great" and "insignificant" people, establishing that death will claim every social class without exception.

The thread — This ban on self-mutilation for the dead parallels Deuteronomy 14:1, while Jeremiah 47:5 records Gaza shaving heads in mourning and Jeremiah 41:5 describes men who shaved their beards and cut themselves.

Why it lands — The text states that no burial, mourning, or ritual grooming will occur because God has removed all comfort from the land. Readers must confront the reality of unmitigated judgment without relying on customary expressions of grief.

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

וּמֵ֨תוּu./Me.tuand/ they will die גְדֹלִ֧יםge.do.Limgreat [people]וּקְטַנִּ֛יםu./ke.ta.Nimand/ insignificant [people]בָּאָ֥רֶץba./'A.retzin the/ land הַזֹּ֖אתha./Zot<the>/ this לֹ֣אlo'not יִקָּבֵ֑רוּyi.ka.Ve.ruthey will be buried וְלֹֽא־ve./lo'-and/ not יִסְפְּד֣וּyis.pe.Dupeople will mournלָהֶ֔םla./Hemfor <the>/ themוְלֹ֣אve./Lo'and/ not יִתְגֹּדַ֔דyit.go.Dadanyone will cut himself וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not יִקָּרֵ֖חַyi.ka.Re.achanyone will make himself baldלָהֶֽם׃la./Hemfor <the>/ them

King James Version

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:

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 14:1 You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,
Jeremiah 41:5 eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their garments, and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, carrying grain offerings and frankincense for the house of the LORD.
Jeremiah 47:5 The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. O remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourself?
Leviticus 19:28 You must not make any cuts in your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
Isaiah 22:12 On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
Jeremiah 48:37 For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.
Isaiah 9:14 So the LORD will cut off Israel’s head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day.
Isaiah 24:2 people and priest alike, servant and master, maid and mistress, buyer and seller, lender and borrower, creditor and debtor.
Jeremiah 7:29 Cut off your hair and throw it away. Raise up a lamentation on the barren heights, for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’
Jeremiah 13:13 then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land—the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the people of Jerusalem.