“Thus says Yahweh.
‘Do not enter
The house of mourning!
Do not go to lament!
Do not bemoan them!
I have taken away
My peace
From this people.
I have taken away
My steadfast love.
I have taken away
My mercy.’
Says Yahweh.
‘Both great as well as small
Shall die in this land.
They shall not be buried.
No one shall lament for them.
There shall be no gashing.
There shall be no shaving of the head for them.
No one shall break bread
For the mourner.
No one shall offer
Comfort for the dead.
No one shall give them
The cup of consolation to drink
For their fathers,
Nor for their mothers.’”
Yahweh was clear to Jeremiah. He was not to enter anyplace where mourning was going on. Jeremiah was not to lament or bemoan anyone. Yahweh had taken away his peace, love, and mercy from his people. He warned that everyone, whether they were important or not, would all die in this land of desolation. However, they were not to be buried. No one should lament for them. They were not to be involved with the traditional funeral rites of cutting oneself or gashing, as well as shaving one’s head. No one should eat with them. They should not drink from the cup of consolation, even if it is their father or mother.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 