⁹ “Take in your hands large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement that is at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in ^(A)Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah,

⁶³ When you finish reading this book, ^(A)(B)tie a stone to it ^(C)and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, ⁶⁴ and say, ^(D)‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, ^(E)and they shall become exhausted.’”

Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

The Broken Flask

19 Thus says the Lord, “Go, buy ^(A)a potter's earthenware ^(B)flask, and take some of ^(C)the elders of the people and some of ^(D)the elders of the priests, ² and go out ^(E)to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. ³ You shall say, ^(F)‘Hear the word of the Lord, ^(G)O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that ^(H)the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. ^4 (I)Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; ^(J)and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, ^5 (K)and have built the high places of Baal ^(L)to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, ^(M)which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind— ⁶ therefore, ^(N)behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or ^(O)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. ⁷ And in this place ^(P)I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, ^(Q)and will cause their people to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. ^(R)I will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth. ⁸ And I will make this city ^(S)a horror, ^(T)a thing to be hissed at. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its wounds. ^9 (U)And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor ^(V)in the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.’

¹⁰ “Then ^(W)you shall break ^(X)the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, ¹¹ and shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, ^(Y)as one breaks a potter's vessel, ^(Z)so that it can never be mended. ^(AA)Men shall bury in Topheth because there will be no place else to bury. ¹² Thus will I do to this place, declares the Lord, and to its inhabitants, making this city ^(AB)like Topheth. ¹³ The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah—^(AC)all the houses on whose ^(AD)roofs offerings have been offered ^(AE)to all the host of heaven, and ^(AF)drink offerings have been poured out to other gods—shall be defiled ^(AG)like the place of Topheth.’”

¹⁴ Then Jeremiah came from ^(AH)Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, ^(AI)and he stood in the court of the Lord's house and said to all the people: ¹⁵ “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I am bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, ^(AJ)because they have stiffened their neck, ^(AK)refusing to hear my words.”

² “Arise, and go down to ^(A)the potter's house, and there I will let you hear^[a] my words.” ³ So I went down to ^(B)the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. ⁴ And the vessel he was making of clay was ^(C)spoiled in the potter's hand, and ^(D)he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁶ “O house of Israel, ^(E)can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. ^(F)Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. ⁷ If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will ^(G)pluck up and break down and destroy it, ⁸ and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, ^(H)turns from its evil, ^(I)I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. ⁹ And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will ^(J)build and plant it, ¹⁰ and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. ¹¹ Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. ^(K)Return, every one from his evil way, and ^(L)amend your ways and your deeds.’

¹² “But they say, ^(M)‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to ^(N)the stubbornness of his evil heart.’

²¹ Then ^(A)a mighty angel ^(B)took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

¹¹ And coming to us, he ^(A)took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, ^(B)“Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^(C)‘This is how the Jews^[a] at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and ^(D)deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”

³ As for you, son of man, prepare for yourself ^(A)an exile's baggage, and go into exile by day ^(B)in their sight. You shall go like an exile from your place to another place ^(C)in their sight. ^(D)Perhaps they will understand, though^[a] they are a rebellious house. ⁴ You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile, and you shall go out yourself ^(E)at evening in their sight, as those do who must go into exile. ⁵ In their sight ^(F)dig through the wall, and bring your baggage out through it. ⁶ In their sight you shall lift the baggage upon your shoulder and carry it out at dusk. You shall cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you ^(G)a sign for the house of Israel.”

^7 (H)And I did as I was commanded. ^(I)I brought out my baggage by day, as baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands. I brought out my baggage at dusk, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ In the morning the word of the Lord came to me: ^9 (J)“Son of man, has not the house of Israel, ^(K)the rebellious house, said to you, ^(L)‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: This oracle concerns^{[b] (M)}the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are in it.’^{[c] 11} Say, ^(N)‘I am a sign for you: ^(O)as I have done, so shall it be done to them. They shall go into exile, into captivity.’ ^12 (P)And the prince who is among them shall lift his baggage upon his shoulder at dusk, and shall go out. ^(Q)They shall dig through the wall to bring him out through it. ^(R)He shall cover his face, that he may not see the land with his eyes. ^13 (S)And I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare. And ^(T)I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans, ^(U)yet he shall not see it, and he shall die there. ^14 (V)And I will scatter toward every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops, ^(W)and I will unsheathe the sword after them. ^15 (X)And they shall know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among the countries. ^16 (Y)But I will let a few of them escape from the sword, from famine and pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the nations where they go, ^(Z)and may know that I am the Lord.”