Jeremiah 19
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 19
Symbol of the Broken Jug. 1 Thus said the Lord: Go forth and purchase a potter’s earthenware jug. Then take along with you some of the elders of the people and some of the priests, 2 and go forth to the Valley of Ben-hinnom,[a] close to the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. 3 There proclaim the words I tell you: Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. This is the message of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am prepared to bring such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.
4 For these people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by offering sacrifices in it to foreign gods whom neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent, 5 building the high places of Baal to sacrifice their sons as burnt offerings to Baal. I never commanded or mentioned such a thing, nor did it ever enter my mind.
6 Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when this place will no longer be called Topheth, or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 In this place, I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who are determined to slaughter them. Their corpses I will give as food to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.
8 Moreover, I will make this city an object of horror and a source of derision. Every passerby will be horrified at the sight and be amazed at the disaster it has incurred. 9 I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and all will devour one another’s flesh during the siege because of the incredible distress with which they have been afflicted by their enemies and those who seek their lives.
10 Then you are to break the jug in the presence of the men who have accompanied you 11 and say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: In the same way I will smash this people and this city, as one smashes a potter’s earthenware jug so that it can never be repaired, and the dead will be buried in Topheth until no further space for burial remains.
12 This is what I am determined to do with this place and its inhabitants, says the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 And the houses of Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth, all of the houses upon whose roofs they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out libations 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 house and proclaimed to all the people, 15 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am now prepared to inflict upon this city and upon all its towns the total disaster with which I threatened it, because they have remained steadfast in their stubbornness and refused to listen to my words.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 19:2 The Valley of Ben-hinnom: the scene of the prophet’s symbolic action (see Jer 7:32—8:2) had been declared unholy by King Josiah and had begun to be the rubbish dump for the city. It would later be known as the Valley of Gehenna.
Jeremiah 19
International Children’s Bible
The Broken Jar
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. 2 Go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom. Go near the front of the Potsherd Gate. Take some of the elders of the people and priests with you. There speak the words I tell you. 3 Say, ‘King of Judah and people of Jerusalem, listen to this message from the Lord. This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: I will soon bring a disaster on this place! Everyone who hears about it will be amazed and full of fear. 4 I will do this because the people of Judah have quit following me. They have made this a place for foreign gods. They have burned sacrifices to other gods. They did not worship these gods long ago! Their ancestors didn’t worship these gods. The kings of Judah filled this place with the blood of the innocent people. 5 The kings of Judah have built places to worship Baal. There they burn their sons in the fire to Baal. I did not speak about it or tell them to do that. I never even thought of such a thing. 6 Now people call this place the Valley of Ben Hinnom or Topheth. But watch out! The days are coming, says the Lord, when people will call this place the Valley of Killing.
7 “‘At this place I will ruin the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The enemy will chase them. And I will let the people of Judah be killed with swords. I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild animals. 8 I will completely destroy this city. People will make fun of it and hiss at it. And they will shake their heads when they pass by Jerusalem. They will be shocked when they see how the city was destroyed. 9 An enemy army will surround the city. They will not let anyone go out to get food. The people will become so hungry they will eat the bodies of their own sons and daughters. And then they will begin to eat each other.’”
10 The Lord said, “While the people with you are watching, break that jar. 11 Then say this: ‘The Lord of heaven’s armies says: I will break this nation and this city just as someone breaks a clay jar. It cannot be put back together again. The dead people will be buried here in Topheth. We will bury bodies until there is no more room. 12 This is what I will do to these people and to this place, says the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses in Jerusalem and the king’s palaces will become as unclean as this place, Topheth. This is because the people worshiped false gods on the roofs[a] of their houses. They worshiped the stars and burned incense to honor them. They gave drink offerings to false gods.’”
14 Then Jeremiah left Topheth where the Lord had told him to prophesy. He went to the Lord’s Temple, stood in the courtyard and said to all the people: 15 “This is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I said I would bring disaster to Jerusalem and the villages around it. I will make it happen soon! This is because the people are very stubborn. They do not listen at all to what I say.’”
Footnotes
- 19:13 roofs In Bible times houses were built with flat roofs. The roof was used for drying things such as flax and fruit. And it was used as an extra room, as a place for worship and as a place to sleep in the summer.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
