God prohibits Yirmiyahu from partaking in normative life cycle events. He may not go to comfort mourners, attend wedding celebrations nor may he marry or procreate. As with Hoshea and Yehezkel, the command regarding his marital relations is a negative sign of the calamity that will strike the people. But in contrast to Hoshea and Yehezkel, Yirmiyahu is commanded to abstain from marriage from the outset.
Prophecy is described here as the prophet's fate, from which there is no escape. Prophecy is forced upon Yirmiyahu and he has no choice but to utter it with his mouth, lest it burn him from the inside. The word of God fills Yirmiyahu with joy and gladness, as he is called by His name. At the same time, however, the hand of God isolates him and fills him with deep rage. Yirmiyahu feels ostracized from society, and he can cannot sit and rejoice in the company of other people, owing to the heavy burden of prophecy and the calamity that is expected to arrive.
