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Moreover, you shall not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.”
Jeremiah 16:8 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB “You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and to drink.”
  • KJV Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.
  • BSB You must not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down with them to eat and drink.
  • NKJV Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”
  • NLT “And do not go to their feasts and parties. Do not eat and drink with them at all.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God also forbids Jeremiah from joining houses of feasting to eat and drink with others. His withdrawal from celebration further signals that ordinary joys cannot continue before the coming judgment.

Overview

Just as he must avoid mourning, Jeremiah must also avoid feasting, embodying the truth that both grief and gladness will be interrupted by judgment. His separated life preaches the seriousness of Judah's situation. It points to the sober reality that the world's celebrations cannot mask coming judgment, and that true and lasting joy is found only in fellowship with God through Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Eccl 7:2–4It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men, and the living should take this to heart.
  • Jer 15:17I didn’t sit in the assembly of those who make merry, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of your hand; for you have filled me with indignation.
  • Isa 22:12–14In that day, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, called to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to dressing in sackcloth:
  • Amos 6:4–6Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the middle of the stall;
  • 1 Cor 5:11But as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortionist. Don’t even eat with such a person.
  • Matt 24:38For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship,
  • Luke 17:27–29They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
  • Eph 5:11Have no fellowship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even reprove them.
  • Ps 26:4I have not sat with deceitful men, neither will I go in with hypocrites.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Jeremiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Jeremiah 16:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JeremiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.

How Jeremiah 16:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.