⁹ “Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in the sight of the men of Judah, in the ^[a]clay in the brick courtyard which is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes;

⁶³ Now it shall be, when you have finished reading this book, ^(A)that you shall tie a stone to it and throw it out into the Euphrates. ⁶⁴ Then you shall say, ‘Thus Babylon shall sink and not rise from the catastrophe that I will bring upon her. And they shall be weary.’ ”

Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

The Sign of the Broken Flask

19 Thus says the Lord: “Go and get a potter’s earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests. ² And go out to ^(A)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the Potsherd Gate; and proclaim there the words that I will tell you, ^3 (B)and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will ^(C)tingle.

⁴ “Because they ^(D)have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with ^(E)the blood of the innocents ^5 (F)(they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, ^(G)which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind), ⁶ therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that this place shall no more be called Tophet or ^(H)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. ⁷ And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, ^(I)and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who seek their lives; their ^(J)corpses I will give as meat for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. ⁸ I will make this city ^(K)desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues. ⁹ And I will cause them to eat the ^(L)flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.” ’

^10 (M)“Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, ¹¹ and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^(N)“Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be ^[a]made whole again; and they shall ^(O)bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury. ¹² Thus I will do to this place,” says the Lord, “and to its inhabitants, and make this city like Tophet. ¹³ And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled ^(P)like the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose ^(Q)roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and ^(R)poured out drink offerings to other gods.” ’ ”

¹⁴ Then Jeremiah came from Tophet, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in ^(S)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 will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because ^(T)they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.’ ”

² “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” ³ Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the ^[a]wheel. ⁴ And the vessel that he ^[b]made of clay was ^[c]marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ⁶ “O house of Israel, ^(A)can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, ^(B)as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! ⁷ The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to ^(C)pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, ^8 (D)if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, ^(E)I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. ⁹ And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, ¹⁰ if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.

¹¹ “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. ^(F)Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings ^(G)good.” ’ ”

God’s Warning Rejected

¹² And they said, ^(H)“That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one ^[d]obey the ^(I)dictates^[e] of his evil heart.”

Finality of Babylon’s Fall

²¹ Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, ^(A)“Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and ^(B)shall not be found anymore.

¹¹ When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ^(A)‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”

³ “Therefore, son of man, prepare your belongings for captivity, and go into captivity by day in their sight. You shall go from your place into captivity to another place in their sight. It may be that they will consider, though they are a rebellious house. ⁴ By day you shall bring out your belongings in their sight, as though going into captivity; and at evening you shall go in their sight, like those who go into captivity. ⁵ Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry your belongings out through it. ⁶ In their sight you shall bear them on your shoulders and carry them out at twilight; you shall cover your face, so that you cannot see the ground, ^(A)for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷ So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my belongings by day, as though going into captivity, and at evening I dug through the wall with my hand. I brought them out at twilight, and I bore them on my shoulder in their sight.

⁸ And in the morning the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹ “Son of man, has not the house of Israel, ^(B)the rebellious house, said to you, ^(C)‘What are you doing?’ ¹⁰ Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “This ^(D)burden^[a] concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are among them.” ’ ¹¹ Say, ^(E)‘I am a sign to you. As I have done, so shall it be done to them; ^(F)they shall be carried away into captivity.’ ¹² And ^(G)the prince who is among them shall bear his belongings on his shoulder at twilight and go out. They shall dig through the wall to carry them out through it. He shall cover his face, so that he cannot see the ground with his eyes. ¹³ I will also spread My ^(H)net over him, and he shall be caught in My snare. ^(I)I will bring him to Babylon, to the land of the Chaldeans; yet he shall not see it, though he shall die there. ^14 (J)I will scatter to every wind all who are around him to help him, and all his troops; and ^(K)I will draw out the sword after them.

^15 (L)“Then they shall know that I am the Lord, when I scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. ^16 (M)But I will spare a few of their men from the sword, from famine, and from pestilence, that they may declare all their abominations among the Gentiles wherever they go. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.”