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.

◄ Jeremiah 16:6 ►

New International Version
“Both high and low will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, and no one will cut themselves or shave their head for the dead.

New Living Translation
Both the great and the lowly will die in this land. No one will bury them or mourn for them. Their friends will not cut themselves in sorrow or shave their heads in sadness.

English Standard Version
Both great and small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried, and no one shall lament for them or cut himself or make himself bald for them.

Berean Standard Bible
“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.

King James Bible
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:

New 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, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.

New American Standard Bible
Both great people and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not mourn for them, nor will anyone make cuts on himself or have his head shaved for them.

NASB 1995
“Both great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, they will not be lamented, nor will anyone gash himself or shave his head for them.

NASB 1977
“Both great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, they will not be lamented, nor will anyone gash himself or shave his head for them.

Legacy Standard Bible
Both great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried; they will not be lamented, nor will anyone gash himself or shave his head for them.

Amplified Bible
Both great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, nor will they be lamented (mourned over with expressions of grief in death), nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them [in mourning].

Christian Standard Bible
“Both great and small will die in this land without burial. No lament will be made for them, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Both great and small will die in this land without burial. No lament will be made for them, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.

American Standard Version
Both 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;

Contemporary English Version
Rich and poor alike will die and be left unburied. No one will mourn and show their sorrow by cutting themselves or shaving their heads.

English Revised Version
Both 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:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Old and young alike will die in this land. No one will mourn for them or bury them. No one will cut his own body or shave his own head for them.

Good News Translation
The rich and the poor will die in this land, but no one will bury them or mourn for them. Not one of you will gash yourself or shave your head to show your grief.

International Standard Version
Both the most and the least important people will die in this land, and they won't be buried. People won't mourn for them. They won't cut themselves, nor will they shave their heads for them.

Majority Standard Bible
“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.

NET Bible
Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them.

New Heart English Bible
Both 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;

Webster's Bible Translation
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:

World English Bible
Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried. Men won’t lament for them, cut themselves, or make themselves bald for them.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
And great and small have died in this land, "" They are not buried, and none lament for them, "" Nor does any cut himself, nor become bald for them.

Young's Literal Translation
And died have great and small in this land, They are not buried, and none lament for them, Nor doth any cut himself, nor become bald for them.

Smith's Literal Translation
And the great and small died in this land: they shall not be buried, and they shall not lament for them, and none shall cut himself or make bald for them:

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
Both the great and the little shall die in the land: they shall not be buried nor lamented, and men shall not cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Both the great and the small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and they will not be mourned. And no one will cut themselves or make themselves bald on their behalf.

New American Bible
They shall die, the great and the lowly, in this land, unburied and unlamented. No one will gash themselves or shave their heads for them.

New Revised Standard Version
Both great and small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, and no one shall lament for them; there shall be no gashing, no shaving of the head for them.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
Both the great and the small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, neither shall any one mourn for them or lament for them, or shave his head for them;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the great ones and the common shall die in this land. They shall not be buried, and they shall not mourn over them, neither shall they howl or shave bald for them

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
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;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
They shall not bewail them, nor make cuttings for them, and they shall not shave themselves for them:

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Disaster Predicted
…5Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal. Do not go to mourn or show sympathy, for I have removed from this people My peace, My loving devotion, and My compassion,” declares the LORD. 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. 7No food will be offered to comfort those who mourn the dead; not even a cup of consolation will be given for the loss of a father or mother.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Ezekiel 24:16-17
“Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a fatal blow. But you must not mourn or weep or let your tears flow. / Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”

Amos 8:10
I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.

Isaiah 22:12-13
On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth. / But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

Hosea 9:4
They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, and their sacrifices will not please Him, but will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat will be defiled. For their bread will be for themselves; it will not enter the house of the LORD.

Leviticus 21:1-4
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to Aaron’s sons, the priests, and tell them that a priest is not to defile himself for a dead person among his people, / except for his immediate family—his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother, / or his unmarried sister who is near to him, since she has no husband. ...

1 Thessalonians 4:13
Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.

Matthew 8:22
But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Luke 9:60
But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Ezekiel 24:23
Your turbans will remain on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins, and you will groan among yourselves.

Isaiah 47:1-3
“Go down and sit in the dust, O Virgin Daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O Daughter of the Chaldeans! For you will no longer be called tender or delicate. / Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil; strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, and wade through the streams. / Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”

Revelation 18:22-23
And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again. / The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”

Ezekiel 7:18
They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.

Micah 1:16
Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in mourning for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they will go from you into exile.

Job 27:15
His survivors will be buried by the plague, and their widows will not weep for them.

Jeremiah 25:33
Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying on the ground.

Treasury of Scripture

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:

the great.

Jeremiah 13:13
Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

Isaiah 9:14-17
Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day…

Isaiah 24:2
And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

they.

Jeremiah 16:4
They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

Jeremiah 22:18,19
Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! …

nor cut.

Jeremiah 7:29
Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.

Jeremiah 41:5
That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.

Jeremiah 47:5
Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?

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Jeremiah 16

1. The prophet, under the types of abstaining from marriage,
8. from houses of mourning and feasting, foreshows the utter ruin of the Jews;
10. because they were worse than their fathers.
14. Their return from captivity shall be stranger than their deliverance out of Egypt.
16. God will doubly recompense their idolatry.

Berean Study Bible

Both great and small
This phrase emphasizes the universality of the coming judgment. In the Hebrew text, the words "gadol" (great) and "qatan" (small) are used, indicating that no social or economic status will exempt anyone from the consequences of their actions. Historically, this reflects the societal structure of ancient Judah, where both the elite and the common people were subject to the same divine laws and expectations. The message is clear: God's judgment is impartial and all-encompassing.

will die in this land
The phrase underscores the certainty and inevitability of the prophesied disaster. The Hebrew word "muth" (to die) is used here, which is a stark reminder of the mortality and the consequences of sin. The land, "eretz," refers specifically to the land of Judah, which was under threat due to the people's disobedience. This serves as a sobering reminder of the covenant relationship between God and His people, where the land itself is a significant element of the promise and the judgment.

They will not be buried
In ancient Near Eastern cultures, burial was a significant rite, and to be denied burial was considered a great dishonor. The Hebrew word "qabar" (to bury) is used here, highlighting the severity of the judgment. This lack of burial signifies not only physical death but also a spiritual and communal disgrace. It reflects the complete breakdown of societal norms and the devastating impact of divine judgment.

and no one will mourn for them
Mourning was an essential part of the grieving process in ancient Israel, often involving specific rituals and expressions of sorrow. The Hebrew word "saphad" (to mourn) indicates a deep, communal lamentation. The absence of mourning signifies a profound desolation and a community so overwhelmed by loss that traditional expressions of grief are abandoned. This highlights the depth of the calamity and the isolation that sin brings.

nor cut themselves
This phrase refers to a pagan mourning practice that was forbidden in Israelite law (Leviticus 19:28). The Hebrew word "sarath" (to cut) is used, indicating a physical act of mourning that was common among surrounding nations but prohibited for God's people. This prohibition underscores the call for Israel to remain distinct and holy, even in their expressions of grief, and serves as a reminder of the importance of adhering to God's commands.

or shave their heads for them
Shaving the head was another mourning practice, often associated with deep sorrow or repentance. The Hebrew word "galach" (to shave) is used here. This act, like cutting oneself, was a common cultural expression of mourning but was not part of the prescribed Israelite mourning customs. The absence of such practices in this context highlights the totality of the judgment and the abandonment of cultural norms in the face of overwhelming disaster. It serves as a call to return to God and His ways, even in times of grief.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) Nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald.--Both practices were forbidden by the Law (Leviticus 19:28; Leviticus 21:5; Deuteronomy 14:1), probably in order to draw a line of demarcation between Israel and the nations round, among whom such practices prevailed (1Kings 18:28). Both, however, seem to have been common, and probably had gained in frequency under Ahaz and Manasseh (Jeremiah 7:29; Jeremiah 41:5; Ezekiel 7:18; Amos 8:10; Micah 1:16). The "baldness" (i.e., shaving the crown of the head) seems to have been the more common of the two. . . .

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 6. - Nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald. Both practices are forbidden in the Law (Deuteronomy 14:1; Leviticus 19:28; Leviticus 21:5), but the prohibition was at any rate unknown to the masses (see, for the former, Jeremiah 41:5; Jeremiah 47:5; and for the latter, Jeremiah 47:5; Isaiah 22:12, "The Lord Jehovah called... to baldness;" Amos 8:10; Micah 1:16; Ezekiel 7:18). St. Jerome remarks, and incidentally gives a valuable evidence of the tenacity of primitive customs, "Mos hic fuit apud veteres, et usque hodie in quibusdam permanet Judaerum, ut in luctibus incidant lacertos," etc.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

Both great
גְדֹלִ֧ים (ḡə·ḏō·lîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 1419: Great, older, insolent

and small
וּקְטַנִּ֛ים (ū·qə·ṭan·nîm)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 6996: Small, young, unimportant

will die
וּמֵ֨תוּ (ū·mê·ṯū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill

in this
הַזֹּ֖את (haz·zōṯ)
Article | Pronoun - feminine singular
Strong's 2063: Hereby in it, likewise, the one other, same, she, so much, such deed, that,

land.
בָּאָ֥רֶץ (bā·’ā·reṣ)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

They will not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

be buried
יִקָּבֵ֑רוּ (yiq·qā·ḇê·rū)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6912: To inter

[or]
וְלֹֽא־ (wə·lō-)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

mourned,
יִסְפְּד֣וּ (yis·pə·ḏū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5594: To tear the hair and beat the breasts, to lament, to wail

nor
וְלֹ֣א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

will anyone cut
יִתְגֹּדַ֔ד (yiṯ·gō·ḏaḏ)
Verb - Hitpael - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1413: To crowd, to gash

himself or shave his head
יִקָּרֵ֖חַ (yiq·qā·rê·aḥ)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7139: To make bald

for them.
לָהֶֽם׃ (lā·hem)
Preposition-l | Pronoun - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1992: They

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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 16:6 Both great and small shall die (Jer.)