The Church Fathers on this verse

Jeremiah 14:16Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And the people to whom they prophesy, shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword, and there shall be none to bury them: they and their wives, their sons and their daughters, and I will pour out their own wickedness upon them.

Douay-Rheims

וְהָעָ֣ם אֲשֶׁר־הֵ֣מָּה נִבְּאִ֣ים לָהֶ֡ם יִֽהְי֣וּ מֻשְׁלָכִים֩ בְּחֻצ֨וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜ם מִפְּנֵ֣י ׀ הָרָעָ֣ב וְהַחֶ֗רֶב וְאֵ֤ין מְקַבֵּר֙ לָהֵ֔מָּה הֵ֣מָּה נְשֵׁיהֶ֔ם וּבְנֵיהֶ֖ם וּבְנֹֽתֵיהֶ֑ם וְשָׁפַכְתִּ֥י עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם אֶת־רָעָתָֽם׃

Hebrew (Masoretic text)

The Church Fathers on this verse

One Church Father comments on this verse

Jerome of Stridon

4th centuryChurch Father

Thus declares the Lord regarding the prophets: Those who proclaim in My name but whom I have not commissioned, stating, "There will be neither sword nor famine in this land," will themselves face destruction by sword and famine. The nations to whom they foretold will wander through the streets of Jerusalem, afflicted by famine and the sword, with no one left to bury them, including their wives, sons, and daughters, as I pour out their wickedness upon them. Let the false prophets who mislead the people of God with false assurances of well-being take heed, lest they meet their own demise, and the misled populace faces the same fate.

Read more (80 words)

If they disregard God's commandments, they will be scattered through the streets of Jerusalem, succumbing to famine and the sword, leaving no one to inter their bodies, no ashes of repentance to veil their reproach. Indeed, the prophets and all the people, along with their families, will be left without mourners, becoming refuse. How many lay unburied in the streets of Jerusalem; how many recognize the evil they endure, a consequence of the Lord's wrath being poured out upon them.

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Passages read together with this verse.