Jeremiah 19
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Clay Jar
19 This is what the Lord says: “Go, buy a potter’s clay(A) jar. Take[a] some of the elders of the people and some of the leading priests(B) 2 and go out to the Valley of Hinnom(C) near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you. 3 Say: Hear the word of the Lord, kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.(D) This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on this place that everyone who hears about it will shudder[b](E) 4 because they have abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in it to other gods that they, their fathers, and the kings of Judah have never known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.(F) 5 They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, something I have never commanded or mentioned; I never entertained the thought.[c](G)
6 “Therefore, take note! The days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.(H) 7 I will spoil the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hand of those who want to take their life. I will provide their corpses as food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.(I) 8 I will make this city desolate, an object of scorn. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and scoff because of all its wounds.(J) 9 I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and they will eat each other’s flesh in the siege and distress that their enemies, those who want to take their life, inflict on them.(K)
10 “Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the people traveling with you, 11 and you are to proclaim to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: I will shatter these people and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be mended. They will bury the dead in Topheth because there is no other place for burials.(L) 12 I will do so to this place”—this is the declaration of the Lord—“and to its residents, making this city like Topheth. 13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will become impure like that place Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they have burned incense to the whole heavenly host(M) and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”
14 Jeremiah came back from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, stood in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple,(N) and proclaimed to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to bring on this city—and on all its dependent villages—all the disaster that I spoke against it, for they have become obstinate, not obeying My words.’”(O)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 19:1 Syr, Tg; MT omits Take
- Jeremiah 19:3 Lit shudder their ears; 1Sm 3:11; 2Kg 21:12
- Jeremiah 19:5 Lit mentioned, and it did not arise on My heart
Jeremiah 19
Common English Bible
Broken beyond repair
19 The Lord proclaims: Go buy a clay jar from a potter in the presence of the elders of the people and the priests. 2 Then go out to the Ben-hinnom Valley at the entrance of the gate called Broken Pots and proclaim there the words I will tell you. 3 Listen to the Lord’s word, you kings of Judah and those of you living in Jerusalem: This is what the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: I’m going to bring such disaster upon this place that it will shock all who hear of it. 4 They have deserted me and degraded this place into a shrine for other gods, which neither they nor their ancestors nor Judah’s kings have ever known. And they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. 5 Yes, they have built shrines to Baal, to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, although I never commanded or ordered such a thing, nor did it ever cross my mind.
6 So now the time is coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or Ben-hinnom Valley but Carnage Valley. 7 I will foil the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place and will have them fall in battle before their enemies, before those who seek their lives. I will give their corpses as food to the birds and the wild animals. 8 I will make this city something that sounds horrible; all who pass by it will be shocked at its pain. 9 And when their enemies lay siege to the city, seeking their lives, they will resort in desperation to eating the flesh of their sons and daughters, and to devouring the flesh of their neighbors.
10 Then you should shatter the clay jar in the sight of the people who are with you, 11 and you should say to them: This is what the Lord of heavenly forces says: Just as one smashes the potter’s piece beyond repair, so I will smash this people and this city. And they will bury the dead in Topheth until there’s no room left. 12 That is what I will do to this place and its residents, declares the Lord: I will make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses of Jerusalem and those of Judah’s kings will become as foul as Topheth—all the houses on whose roofs they made offerings to the heavenly force and poured out drink offerings to other gods.
14 When Jeremiah returned from Topheth where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, he stood in the court of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people: 15 The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I am about to bring upon this city and its surrounding towns every disaster that I have pronounced against them, because they have been stubborn and wouldn’t obey my words.
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