1 The Lord said to me:
2 Jeremiah, don't get married and have children—Judah is no place to raise a family.
3 I'll tell you what's going to happen to children and their parents here.
4 They will die of horrible diseases and of war and starvation. No one will give them a funeral or bury them, and their bodies will be food for the birds and wild animals. And what's left will lie on the ground like manure.
5 When someone dies, don't visit the family or show any sorrow. I will no longer love or bless or have any pity on the people of Judah.
6 Rich and poor alike will die and be left unburied. No one will mourn and show their sorrow by cutting themselves or shaving their heads.