Jeremiah 16:1-2

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 16:1 Like Hosea’s marriage (see Hos 1:3), Jeremiah’s celibacy had fed the public’s curiosity. The prophet lived alone and took part in neither funerals nor festivities. He wanted to make it understood that this was no longer a time for establishing families or for gathering for feasts. In order to temper the severity of this oracle, an editor has introduced a more comforting passage regarding the return of those who would be scattered (v. 14f); these verses have their more appropriate setting in Jer 23:7-8. And in order to end on an optimistic note, three verses have been added (vv. 19-21) that foretell the conversion of the nations and are inspired by Isa 45:14.