Jeremiah 16:7 No 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.

◄ Jeremiah 16:7 ►

New International Version
No one will offer food to comfort those who mourn for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console them.

New Living Translation
No one will offer a meal to comfort those who mourn for the dead—not even at the death of a mother or father. No one will send a cup of wine to console them.

English Standard Version
No one shall break bread for the mourner, to comfort him for the dead, nor shall anyone give him the cup of consolation to drink for his father or his mother.

Berean Standard Bible
No 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.

King James Bible
Neither shall men tear themselves 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.

New King James Version
Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother.

New American Standard Bible
People will not break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother.

NASB 1995
“Men will not break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother.

NASB 1977
“Neither will men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother.

Legacy Standard Bible
Men will not break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of comforting to drink for anyone’s father or mother.

Amplified Bible
People will not offer food to the mourners, to comfort anyone [as they grieve] for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother.

Christian Standard Bible
Food won’t be provided for the mourner to comfort him because of the dead. A consoling drink won’t be given him for the loss of his father or mother.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Food won’t be provided for the mourner to comfort him because of the dead. A cup of consolation won’t be given him because of the loss of his father or mother.

American Standard Version
neither 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.

Contemporary English Version
No one will bring food and wine to help comfort those who are mourning the death of their father or mother.

English Revised Version
neither 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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
No one will offer food to comfort those who mourn the dead. No one will give a consoling drink to those who have lost their fathers or mothers.

Good News Translation
No one will eat or drink with anyone to offer comfort when a loved one dies. No one will show sympathy, not even for someone who has lost a father or mother.

International Standard Version
They won't break bread for the mourner to be consoled for the dead. They won't give anyone the cup of consolation to drink for his father or mother.

Majority Standard Bible
No 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.

NET Bible
No one will take any food to those who mourn for the dead to comfort them. No one will give them any wine to drink to console them for the loss of their father or mother.

New Heart English Bible
neither 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.

Webster's Bible Translation
Neither shall men tear themselves 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.

World English Bible
Men won’t break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead. Men won’t give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
Nor do they deal out to them for mourning, "" To comfort him concerning the dead, "" Nor cause them to drink a cup of consolations "" For his father and for his mother.

Young's Literal Translation
Nor do they deal out to them for mourning, To comfort him concerning the dead, Nor cause them to drink a cup of consolations For his father and for his mother.

Smith's Literal Translation
They shall not break bread in mourning to comfort him for the dead; and they shall not give them to drink the cup of consolations for his father and for his mother.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they shall not break bread among them to him that mourneth, to comfort him for the dead: neither shall they give them to drink of the cup, to comfort them for their father and mother.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And they will not break bread among themselves for the sake of him who mourns, so as to console him over the dead. And they will not give them a chalice to drink, so as to console them over their father and mother.

New American Bible
They will not break bread with the bereaved to offer consolation for the dead; they will not give them the cup of consolation to drink over the death of father or mother.

New Revised Standard Version
No one shall break bread for the mourner, to offer comfort for the dead; nor shall anyone give them the cup of consolation to drink for their fathers or their mothers.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their fathers or for their mothers.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they shall not clip themselves for them in mourning, that they may be comforted for the dead, and they shall not drink them a cup of comfort for their fathers and for their mothers

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
neither 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.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
and there shall be no bread broken in mourning for them for consolation over the dead: they shall not give one to drink a cup for consolation over his father or his mother.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Disaster Predicted
…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. 8You must not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down with them to eat and drink.…

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.”

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.

Isaiah 24:7-9
The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan. / The joyful tambourines have ceased; the noise of revelers has stopped; the joyful harp is silent. / They no longer sing and drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who consume it.

Amos 6:6
You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

Lamentations 2:10
The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground.

Lamentations 5:15
Joy has left our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning.

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!”

Ezekiel 26:13
So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.

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.”

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 9:23
When Jesus entered the house of the synagogue leader, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd.

Luke 7:32
They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to one another: ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

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.”

John 16:20
Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.

Matthew 11:17
‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

Treasury of Scripture

Neither shall men tear themselves 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.

tear themselves.

Deuteronomy 26:14
I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.

Job 42:11
Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.

Ezekiel 24:17
Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men.

cup.

Proverbs 31:6,7
Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts…

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Bread Break Cause Comfort Consolation Consolations Cup Dead Deal Drink Feast Food Lips Mother Mourn Mourner Mourning Offer Sorrow Tear Themselves

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Bread Break Cause Comfort Consolation Consolations Cup Dead Deal Drink Feast Food Lips Mother Mourn Mourner Mourning Offer Sorrow Tear Themselves

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

No food will be offered
In the Hebrew context, the phrase refers to the traditional practice of providing meals to those in mourning. This custom, known as the "meal of consolation," was a significant part of Jewish mourning rituals. The absence of such offerings signifies a profound disruption in societal norms and communal support, highlighting the severity of God's judgment upon the people. It underscores the depth of desolation and the breaking of community bonds that would typically offer solace during times of grief.

to comfort those who mourn the dead
Mourning the dead was a deeply ingrained cultural and religious practice in ancient Israel. The Hebrew word for "mourn" (אָבֵל, 'abel) conveys a sense of deep sorrow and lamentation. In this context, the absence of comfort for mourners indicates a divine judgment that leaves the community without the usual means of emotional and spiritual support. This reflects the broader theme of Jeremiah, where the people's disobedience leads to a withdrawal of God's blessings and the natural order of compassion and care.

not even a cup of consolation
The "cup of consolation" is a metaphorical expression for the small gestures of kindness and support extended to those in grief. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, sharing a cup or meal was a sign of fellowship and solidarity. The denial of even this basic comfort emphasizes the totality of the impending judgment. It serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of turning away from God, where even the simplest acts of human kindness are withheld.

for the loss of a father or mother
The mention of "father or mother" personalizes the loss, bringing it into the intimate sphere of family. In Hebrew culture, honoring one's parents was a commandment with profound spiritual and social implications. The loss of parental figures symbolizes not only personal grief but also the breakdown of familial and societal structures. This phrase highlights the depth of the calamity that befalls the people, where the most fundamental relationships are affected by the consequences of their collective disobedience.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(7) Neither shall men tear themselves.--The marginal reading, "Neither shall men break bread for them," as in Isaiah 58:7; Lamentations 4:4, gives the true meaning. We are entering upon another region of funeral customs, reminding us of some of the practices connected with the "wakes" of old English life. After the first burst of sorrow and of fasting, as the sign of sorrow (2Samuel 1:12; 2Samuel 3:35; 2Samuel 12:16-17), friends came to the mourner to comfort him. A feast was prepared for them, consisting of "the bread of mourners" (Hosea 9:4; Ezekiel 24:17) and the "cup of consolation," as for those of a heavy heart (Proverbs 31:6). It is probable that some reference to this practice was implied in our Lord's solemn benediction of the bread and of the cup at the Last Supper. As His body had been "anointed for the burial" (Matthew 26:12), so, in giving the symbols of His death, He was, as it were, keeping with His disciples His own funeral feast. The thought of the dead lying unburied, or buried without honour, is contemplated in all its horrors. . . .

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 7. - Tear themselves for them. The verb is used in Isaiah 58:7 of breaking bread (the accusative is there expressed), and there is no doubt that this is the meaning here. The only question is whether lahem, for them, should not rather be lekhem, bread (this was read by the Septuagint, Peshito, Vulgate, Targnm). St. Jerome sees here an allusion to the funeral feasts (comp. the parentalia), and surely he is right. The Jews had a conception of the nature of the life of the other world only less distinct than that of their Egyptian neighbors. The funeral feast was not merely for the living, but for the dead. Indeed, it was primarily intended for the spiritual nourish-merit of those who had gone before to the unseen world (comp. Bonwick, 'Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought,' p. 48). Chardin, the old traveler, asserts that "the Oriental Christians still make banquets of this kind by a custom derived from the Jews." The cup of consolation. It would seem as if the funeral feasts had dwindled among the Jews into little more than a refection for the benefit of the mourners.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

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

will be offered
יִפְרְס֥וּ (yip̄·rə·sū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6536: To break in pieces, to split, distribute

to comfort
לְנַחֲמ֣וֹ (lə·na·ḥă·mōw)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5162: To sigh, breathe strongly, to be sorry, to pity, console, rue, to avenge

those who mourn
אֵ֖בֶל (’ê·ḇel)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 60: Lamentation

the dead;
מֵ֑ת (mêṯ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill

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

a cup
כּ֣וֹס (kō·ws)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3563: A cup, a lot, some unclean bird, an owl

of consolation
תַּנְחוּמִ֔ים (tan·ḥū·mîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8575: Compassion, solace

will be given
יַשְׁק֤וּ (yaš·qū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 8248: To quaff, to irrigate, furnish a, potion to

for
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the loss of a father
אָבִ֖יו (’ā·ḇîw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1: Father

or mother.
אִמּֽוֹ׃ (’im·mōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 517: A mother, )

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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 16:7 Neither shall men break bread for them (Jer.)