Jeremiah 19
English Standard Version
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.”
Jeremiah 19
New Living Translation
Jeremiah’s Shattered Jar
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a clay jar. Then ask some of the leaders of the people and of the priests to follow you. 2 Go out through the Gate of Broken Pots to the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and give them this message. 3 Say to them, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will bring a terrible disaster on this place, and the ears of those who hear about it will ring!
4 “‘For Israel has forsaken me and turned this valley into a place of wickedness. The people burn incense to foreign gods—idols never before acknowledged by this generation, by their ancestors, or by the kings of Judah. And they have filled this place with the blood of innocent children. 5 They have built pagan shrines to Baal, and there they burn their sons as sacrifices to Baal. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing! 6 So beware, for the time is coming, says the Lord, when this garbage dump will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
7 “‘For I will upset the careful plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will allow the people to be slaughtered by invading armies, and I will leave their dead bodies as food for the vultures and wild animals. 8 I will reduce Jerusalem to ruins, making it a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and will gasp at the destruction they see there. 9 I will see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all the food is gone. Then those trapped inside will eat their own sons and daughters and friends. They will be driven to utter despair.’
10 “As these men watch you, Jeremiah, smash the jar you brought. 11 Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: As this jar lies shattered, so I will shatter the people of Judah and Jerusalem beyond all hope of repair. They will bury the bodies here in Topheth, the garbage dump, until there is no more room for them. 12 This is what I will do to this place and its people, says the Lord. I will cause this city to become defiled like Topheth. 13 Yes, all the houses in Jerusalem, including the palace of Judah’s kings, will become like Topheth—all the houses where you burned incense on the rooftops to your star gods, and where liquid offerings were poured out to your idols.’”
14 Then Jeremiah returned from Topheth, the garbage dump where he had delivered this message, and he stopped in front of the Temple of the Lord. He said to the people there, 15 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will bring disaster upon this city and its surrounding towns as I promised, because you have stubbornly refused to listen to me.’”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
