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.
Study Note
Study Note
The decree that the slain of the coming disaster 'shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried' withdraws from the people the basic funeral dignities that ancient Near Eastern cultures regarded as essential for the well-being of the dead. Denial of burial was the ultimate shaming in the ancient world, invoked as a covenant curse in Deuteronomy 28:26 and used by Amos 8:3 and Ezekiel 29:5 as markers of total divine judgment. The verse functions in Jeremiah's symbolic-act theology as a lived embodiment of the coming catastrophe, with the prophet's own forbidden mourning (verse 5) acting as a sign to the people that God himself has withdrawn his shalom from them.
Other Translations
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.
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.
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.
Cross References
Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, …
They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the …
And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of …
At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones …
And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, …
Speak, Thus saith the Lord, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as …
Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they …
And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine …
And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell …
And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, …