Jeremias 16:6

6 They shall not bewail them, nor make cuttings for them, and they shall not shave themselves :

Jeremias 16:6 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 16:6

Both the great and the small shall die in this land
The nobles as well as the common people, high and low, rich and poor; none shall be exempted from the grievous deaths by the sword, famine, and pestilence. They shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them;
as before, ( Jeremiah 16:4 ) , this shall be the common case of them all; the great and the rich shall have no more care and notice taken of them than the poor: nor cut themselves;
their flesh, with their nails, or with knives, to show their grief for the dead, and to alleviate the sorrow of surviving friends, by bearing a part with them: nor make themselves bald for them;
by plucking off the hair of their heads, or by shaving them, and between their eyes; which though forbidden the Jews by the law of God, as being Heathenish customs, yet obtained in the times of Jeremiah, and were usually done; see ( Deuteronomy 14:1 ) .

Jeremias 16:6 In-Context

4 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.

5 Thus saith the Lord, Enter not into their mourning feast, and go not to lament, and mourn not for them: for I have removed my peace from this people.

6 They shall not bewail them, nor make cuttings for them, and they shall not shave themselves :

7 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.

8 Thou shalt not enter into the banquet-house, to sit with them to eat and to drink.