“For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies.”
My Notes
What Does Jeremiah 16:5 Mean?
"For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies." God commands Jeremiah not to mourn with the people — not to enter mourning houses, not to lament, not to bemoan. The reason is devastating: God has REMOVED His peace, His lovingkindness, and His mercies from this people. The mourning rituals are empty because the divine compassion that should accompany them has been withdrawn.
The phrase "I have taken away my peace" (asaphti et shelomi — I have gathered back/removed My peace) means God has RECALLED His shalom: the peace wasn't just absent. It was actively removed. God took it back. The shalom that was available, that was offered, that was present — God gathered it and removed it. The peace that sustained the community has been withdrawn by its source.
The "even lovingkindness and mercies" (et hachesed ve'et harachamim) specifies what was removed alongside peace: chesed (covenant love, loyal kindness) and rachamim (womb-compassion, tender mercies). The three together — peace, lovingkindness, mercies — represent the complete package of divine favor. ALL of it has been withdrawn. The community's divine support system has been recalled.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you experienced the withdrawal of God's peace — and did you recognize what was missing?
- 2.What does God REMOVING peace (not just withholding it) teach about the active nature of judgment?
- 3.How does Jeremiah being told not to mourn picture God's withdrawal from communal grief?
- 4.What would it take to restore the peace, lovingkindness, and mercies that have been withdrawn?
Devotional
Don't mourn with them. Don't lament. Don't bemoan. Because I have taken My peace away from this people — My lovingkindness AND My mercies. The divine support system has been recalled. The mourning that should be accompanied by God's comfort is unaccompanied. The grief has no divine presence behind it.
The 'enter not into the house of mourning' is one of the strangest commands a prophet receives: prophets are supposed to COMFORT the grieving. Jeremiah is told NOT to. The prohibition isn't cruelty — it's symbolic action. By NOT mourning with the people, Jeremiah acts out what God has already done: withdrawn His presence from their grief. The prophet's absence pictures God's absence.
The 'I have taken away my peace' is the withdrawal that changes everything: the shalom — the wholeness, the well-being, the sense that God is present and things will be okay — has been RECALLED. God didn't just stop sending peace. He took back the peace that was already there. The community that had God's shalom no longer has it. The peace was gathered back to its source.
The removal of 'lovingkindness and mercies' alongside peace strips the community of every form of divine favor: chesed (the covenant love that holds the relationship together) AND rachamim (the womb-compassion that makes God tender toward His children). Both are gone. The covenant love — gone. The tender mercies — gone. The peace — gone. The community is operating without divine support.
Have you ever felt God's peace, lovingkindness, and mercies withdrawn — and did you recognize what was missing?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
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The prophet is here for a sign to the people. They would not regard what he said; let it be tried whether they will…
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Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture