Jeremiah 16 Comparison: Bible in Basic English vs New Heart English Bible
Jeremiah 16
1Then again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2You are not to take a wife for yourself or have sons or daughters in this place.
3For this is what the Lord has said about the sons and daughters who come to birth in this place, and about their mothers who have given them birth, and about their fathers who have given life to them in this land:
4Death from evil diseases will overtake them; there will be no weeping for them and their bodies will not be put to rest; they will be like waste on the face of the earth: the sword and need of food will put an end to them; their dead bodies will be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.
5For this is what the Lord has said: Do not go into the house of sorrow, do not go to make weeping or songs of grief for them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the Lord, even mercy and pity.
6Death will overtake great as well as small in the land: their bodies will not be put in a resting-place, and no one will be weeping for them or wounding themselves or cutting off their hair for them:
7No one will make a feast for them in sorrow, to give them comfort for the dead, or put to their lips the cup of comfort on account of their father or their mother.
8And you are not to go into the house of feasting, or be seated with them to take food or drink.
9For the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, See, before your eyes and in your days I will put an end in this place to the laughing voices and the voice of joy; to the voice of the newly-married man and the voice of the bride.
10And it will be, that when you say all these words to the people, then they will say to you, Why has the Lord done all this evil against us? what is our wrongdoing and what is our sin which we have done against the Lord our God?
11Then you will say to them, Because your fathers have given me up, says the Lord, and have gone after other gods and become their servants and their worshippers, and have given me up and have not kept my law;
12And you have done worse evil than your fathers; for see, every one of you is guided by the pride of his evil heart, so as not to give ear to me:
13For this reason I will send you away out of this land into a land which is strange to you, to you and to your fathers; there you will be the servants of other gods day and night, and you will have no mercy from me.
14For this cause, see, the days are coming, says the Lord, when it will no longer be said, By the living Lord, who took the children of Israel up out of the land of Egypt.
15But, By the living Lord, who took the children of Israel up out of the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had sent them: and I will take them back again to their land which I gave to their fathers.
16See, I will send for great numbers of fishermen, says the Lord, and they will take them like fish in a net; and after that, I will send for numbers of bowmen, and they will go after them, driving them from every mountain and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
17For my eyes are on all their ways: there is no cover for them from my face, and their evil-doing is not kept secret from my eyes.
18And I will give them the reward of their evil-doing and their sin twice over; because they have made my land unclean, and have made my heritage full of the bodies of their unholy and disgusting things.
19O Lord, my strength and my strong tower, my safe place in the day of trouble, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and say, The heritage of our fathers is nothing but deceit, even false things in which there is no profit.
20Will a man make for himself gods which are no gods?
21For this reason, truly, I will make them see, this once I will give them knowledge of my hand and my power; and they will be certain that my name is the Lord.
Jeremiah 16
1The word of the Lord came also to me, saying,
2"You shall not take a wife, neither shall you have sons or daughters, in this place.
3For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and concerning their fathers who became their father in this land:
4They shall die grievous deaths: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung on the surface of the ground; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth.
5For thus says the Lord, 'Do not enter into the house of mourning, neither go to lament, neither bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the Lord, even loving kindness and tender mercies.
6Both great and 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;
7neither shall men break bread 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.
8You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and to drink.
9For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before 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.
10It shall happen, when you shall show this people all these words, and they shall tell you, 'Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?'
11Then you shall tell them, 'Because your fathers have forsaken me, says the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;
12and you have done evil more than your fathers; for, behold, you walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that you do not listen to me:
13therefore will I cast you forth out of this land into the land that you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor.'
14Therefore behold, the days come," says the Lord, "that it shall no more be said, 'As the Lord lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;'
15but, 'As the Lord lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had driven them.' I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers.
16Behold, I will send for many fishermen," says the Lord, "and they shall fish them up; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.
17For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from my face, neither is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.
18First I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable things, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations."
19"Lord, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, 'Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vanity and things in which there is no profit.
20Shall a man make to himself gods, which yet are no gods?'"
21"Therefore behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is the Lord.
Understanding Bible in Basic English vs New Heart English Bible in Jeremiah 16
Bible in Basic English (BBE)
A simplified translation using a limited English vocabulary for clarity and accessibility. Helpful for new readers, ESL learners, and quick comprehension. Great for devotional reading and getting the big picture of each passage.
New Heart English Bible (NHEB)
A modern public domain translation with clear, contemporary English. Designed for readability while staying close to the source text. A solid option for both daily reading and study.
You are viewing a side-by-side comparison of Jeremiah 16 in the Bible in Basic English and New Heart English Bible. Comparing these two versions can help shed light on the nuances of the original text.
Key Comparison: Jeremiah 16:16
"See, I will send for great numbers of fishermen, says the Lord, and they will take them like fish in a net; and after that, I will send for numbers of bowmen, and they will go after them, driving them from every mountain and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks."
"Behold, I will send for many fishermen," says the Lord, "and they shall fish them up; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks."
