Jeremiah 16:4

Contemporary English Version

They will die of horrible diseases and of war and starvation. No one will give them a funeral or bury them, and their bodies will be food for the birds and wild animals. And what's left will lie on the ground like manure.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like manure on the soil’s surface. They will be finished off by sword and famine. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.

Hebrew Names Version
They 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 eretz.

King James Version
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.

English Standard Version
They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.

New American Standard Bible
"They will die of deadly diseases, they will not be mourned or buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground. And they will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth."

New Century Version
"They will die of terrible diseases, and no one will cry for them or bury them. Their bodies will lie on the ground like dung. They will die in war, or they will starve to death. Their bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals."

Amplified Bible
"They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth."

World English Bible
They 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.

Geneva Bible (1587)
They shal die of deathes and diseases: they shal not be lamented, neither shal they be buried, but they shalbe as dung vpon the earth, and they shalbe consumed by the sword, & by famine, and their carkeises shall be meate for the foules of the heauen, and for the beasts of the earth.

Legacy Standard Bible
"They will die of deadly diseases; they will not be lamented or buried; they will be as dung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their carcasses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth."

Berean Standard Bible
"They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth."

Complete Jewish Bible
‘They will die terrible deaths without being mourned or buried; they will be left on the ground like dung. They will die by the sword and by famine, and their corpses will be food for the birds in the air and the wild animals.'

Darby Translation
They shall die of painful deaths; they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung upon the face of the ground, and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine, and their carcases shall be food for the fowl of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth.

Easy-to-Read Version
"They will die from terrible disease. And no one will cry for them or bury them. Their bodies will lie on the ground like dung. Or they will die in war or starve to death. Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth."

George Lamsa Translation
They shall die the death of those who are ravaged by famine; they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as refuse upon the face of the earth; and they shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be food for the fowls of the air and for the beasts of the earth.

Good News Translation
They will die of terrible diseases, and no one will mourn for them or bury them. Their bodies will lie like piles of manure on the ground. They will be killed in war or die of starvation, and their bodies will be food for the birds and the wild animals.

Lexham English Bible
"They will die by diseases, they will not be mourned, and they will not be buried. They will be as dung on the face of the earth. And they will perish by the sword and they will perish by the famine. And their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air, and for the wild animals of the earth."

Literal Translation
They shall die of deadly diseases; they shall not be mourned nor shall they be buried; they shall be as dung on the face of the earth. And they shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their bodies shall be food for the birds of theheavens, and for the beasts of the earth.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
They shal dye an horrible deeth, no ma shal mourne for them, ner burie them, but they shal lye as doge vpon the earth. They shal perish thorow the swearde and honger, and their bodies shal be meate for the foules of the ayre, and beestes of the earth.

American Standard Version
They shall die grievous deaths: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung upon the face 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 heavens, and for the beasts of the earth.

Bible in Basic English
Death 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.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried, they shall be as dung upon the face of the ground; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

King James Version (1611)
They shal die of grieuous deaths, they shall not bee lamented, neither shall they be buried: but they shall be as doung vpon the face of the earth, and they shalbe consumed by the sword, and by famine, and their carkeises shall be meate for the foules of heauen, and for the beasts of the earth.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
They shall dye an horrible death, no man shall weepe for them, nor bury them, but they shall lye as dunge vpon the earth: they shall perishe through the sworde & hunger, and their bodyes shalbe meate for the fowles of the ayre, and beastes of the earth.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
They shall die of grievous death; they shall not be lamented, nor buried; they shall be for an example on the face of the earth; and they shall be for the wild beasts of the land, and for the birds of the sky: they shall fall by the sword, and shall be consumed with famine.

English Revised Version
They shall die of grievous deaths; they shalt not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung upon the face of the ground: 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.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thei schulen die bi dethis of sikenessis, thei schulen not be biweilid, and thei schulen not be biried; thei schulen be in to a dunghil on the face of erthe, and thei schulen be wastid bi swerd and hungur; and the careyn of hem schal be in to mete to the volatilis of heuene, and to beestis of erthe.

Update Bible Version
They shall die grievous deaths: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung on the face 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 heavens, and for the beasts of the earth.

Webster's Bible Translation
They shall die by 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 carcasses shall be food for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

New English Translation
They will die of deadly diseases. No one will mourn for them. They will not be buried. Their dead bodies will lie like manure spread on the ground. They will be killed in war or die of starvation. Their corpses will be food for the birds and wild animals.

New King James Version
"They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth."

New Living Translation
They will die from terrible diseases. No one will mourn for them or bury them, and they will lie scattered on the ground like manure. They will die from war and famine, and their bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals."

New Life Bible
"They will die of bad diseases. No one will cry for them or bury them. They will be as animal waste on the ground, destroyed by sword and hunger. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the earth."

New Revised Standard
They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried; they shall become like dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall become food for the birds of the air and for the wild animals of the earth.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Of deaths from diseases, shall they die, They shall not be lamented, Neither shall they be buried, As heaps of dung on the face of the ground, shall riley serve, - Yea by sword and by famine, shall they be consumed, And, their dead bodies shall become, food - To the bird of the heavens, and To the beast of the earth.

Douay-Rheims Bible
They shall die by the death of grievous illnesses: they shall not be lamented, and they shall not be buried, they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed with the sword, and with famine: and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of the air, and for the beasts of the earth.

Revised Standard Version
They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried; they shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.

Young's Literal Translation
Of painful deaths they die, They are not lamented, nor are they buried, For dung on the face of the ground they are, And by sword and by famine are consumed, And their carcase hath been for food To the fowl of the heavens, And to the beast of the earth.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"They will die of deadly diseases, they will not be lamented or buried; they will be as dung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their carcasses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth."

Contextual Overview

¹ The Lord said to me: ² Jeremiah, don't get married and have children—Judah is no place to raise a family. ³ I'll tell you what's going to happen to children and their parents here. ⁴ They will die of horrible diseases and of war and starvation. No one will give them a funeral or bury them, and their bodies will be food for the birds and wild animals. And what's left will lie on the ground like manure. ⁵ When someone dies, don't visit the family or show any sorrow. I will no longer love or bless or have any pity on the people of Judah. ⁶ 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. ⁷ No one will bring food and wine to help comfort those who are mourning the death of their father or mother. ⁸ Don't even set foot in a house where there is eating and drinking and celebrating. ⁹ Warn the people of Judah that I, the Lord All-Powerful, will put an end to all their parties and wedding celebrations.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

die: Jeremiah 14:16, Jeremiah 15:2, Jeremiah 15:3, Psalms 78:64

not: Jeremiah 16:5-7, Jeremiah 22:18, Jeremiah 25:33, Amos 6:9, Amos 6:10

neither: Jeremiah 7:33, Jeremiah 22:19, Jeremiah 36:30, Psalms 79:2, Psalms 79:3

as dung: Jeremiah 8:1-3, Jeremiah 9:22, Jeremiah 25:33, 1 Kings 14:10, 1 Kings 14:11, 1 Kings 21:23, 1 Kings 21:24, 2 Kings 9:10, 2 Kings 9:36, 2 Kings 9:37, Psalms 83:10, Isaiah 5:25, Zephaniah 1:17

consumed: Jeremiah 14:15, Jeremiah 34:17, Jeremiah 44:12, Jeremiah 44:27, Ezekiel 5:12

meat: Jeremiah 34:20, Psalms 79:2, Isaiah 18:6, Ezekiel 39:17-20, Revelation 19:17, Revelation 19:18

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 28:21 - General Deuteronomy 28:26 - General Deuteronomy 32:24 - the teeth Jeremiah 8:2 - they shall be Jeremiah 13:10 - shall Jeremiah 14:12 - but Jeremiah 16:6 - they Jeremiah 18:21 - let their wives Jeremiah 19:7 - and their Jeremiah 24:10 - General Jeremiah 32:24 - because Ezekiel 6:11 - fall Ezekiel 24:17 - make Ezekiel 24:21 - that which your soul pitieth Ezekiel 24:22 - General Ezekiel 29:5 - I will leave Hosea 9:12 - yet Amos 4:10 - the stink Revelation 6:8 - kill

Cross-References

Genesis 16:4
Later, when Hagar knew she was going to have a baby, she became proud and was hateful to Sarai.

Genesis 16:5
Then Sarai said to Abram, "It's all your fault! I gave you my slave woman, but she has been hateful to me ever since she found out she was pregnant. You have done me wrong, and you will have to answer to the Lord for this."

Genesis 16:6
Abram said, "All right! She's your slave, and you can do whatever you want with her." But Sarai began treating Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.

Genesis 16:8
and asked, "Hagar, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She answered, "I'm running away from Sarai, my owner."

2 Samuel 6:16
Saul's daughter Michal looked out her window and watched the chest being brought into David's City. But when she saw David jumping and dancing for the Lord , she was disgusted.

Proverbs 30:23
a hateful woman who finds a husband, and a slave who takes the place of the woman who owns her.

1 Corinthians 4:6
Friends, I have used Apollos and myself as examples to teach you the meaning of the saying, "Follow the rules." I want you to stop saying that one of us is better than the other.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

They shall die of grievous deaths,.... Such as the sword, famine, and pestilence. The Targum particularly adds famine. It may be rendered, "deaths of diseases, or sicknesses" u; such as are brought on by long sickness and lingering distempers; by which a man consumes gradually, as by famine, and is not snatched away at once; and which are very grievous to bear.

They shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; which two offices are usually done to the dead by their surviving relations; who mourn for them, and express their grief by various gestures, and which especially were used by the eastern nations; and take care that they have a decent burial: but neither of these would now be, which is mentioned as an aggravation of the calamity; that not only the deaths they should die of would be grievous ones, but after death no regard would be shown them; and that either because there would be none to do these things for them; or they would be so much taken up in providing for their own safety, and so much in concern for their own preservation, that they would not be at leisure to attend to the above things:

but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth; lie and rot there, and be dung to the earth; which would be a just retaliation, for their filthy and abominable actions committed in the land:

and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; the grievous deaths before mentioned; the sword without, and the famine within; the one more sudden, and at once, the other more lingering; and therefore may be more especially designed by the death of lingering sicknesses referred to:

and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; lying unburied; see Jeremiah 7:33.

u ממותי תחלאים "mortibus aegrotationum", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, "aegritudium", Munster, Vatablus; "mortibus morborum", Schmidt. So Stockius, p. 340, 597, who restrains it to the death of individuals by the pestilence.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 16:4. They shall die of grievious deaths — All prematurely; see Jeremiah 14:16.

As dung upon the face of the earth — See Jeremiah 8:2.

Be meat for the fowls — See Jeremiah 7:33.