Jeremiah 16:18

Yahweh would pay them back double for polluting His land (cf. Isaiah 40:2)-which He had given them as an inheritance-with their iniquities and sins, and with the dead bodies of their idols and abominable objects of worship. "Paying back double" may be an expression indicating proportionate payment, making the punishment equivalent to the crime, or it may be hyperbole for full payment (cf. Job 11:6; Isaiah 40:2). [Note: See The New Bible Dictionary, 1962 ed., s.v. "Archaeology," by D. J. Wiseman.]

The next pericope returns to the note of hope in the distant future (Jeremiah 16:14-15), but it promises blessing for the nations as well as Israel then (Jeremiah 16:19-21).