Jeremiah 16:2

2 "Jeremiah, don't get married. Don't raise a family here.

Jeremiah 16:2 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 16:2

Thou shall not take thee a wife
Not because it was unlawful; for it was lawful for prophets to marry, and they did; but because it was not advisable, on account of the calamities and distresses which were coming upon the nation; which would be more bearable by him alone, than if he had a wife, which would increase his care, concern, and sorrow. Neither shall thou have sons nor daughters in this place;
in Anathoth, says Kimchi; but it is most likely that Jerusalem in particular is meant, though the whole land of Judea in general may be designed; and though nothing is more desirable than to have children to build up the family, and bear and continue a man's name for futurity, yet in times of public calamity these do but add to the affliction.

Jeremiah 16:2 In-Context

1 God's Message to me:

2 "Jeremiah, don't get married. Don't raise a family here.

3 I have signed the death warrant on all the children born in this country, the mothers who bear them and the fathers who beget them -

4 an epidemic of death. Death unlamented, the dead unburied, dead bodies decomposing and stinking like dung, all the killed and starved corpses served up as meals for carrion crows and mongrel dogs!"

5 God continued: "Don't enter a house where there's mourning. Don't go to the funeral. Don't sympathize. I've quit caring about what happens to this people." God's Decree. "No more loyal love on my part, no more compassion.