Beginning

18 The Davar which came to Yirmeyah from Hashem, saying,

² Arise, and go down to the bais hayotzer (the house of the potter, Creator), and there I will cause thee to hear My Devar.

³ Then I went down to the bais hayotzer, and, behold, he wrought a work on the [potter’s] wheel.

⁴ And the keli (vessel) that he was making of khomer (clay) was marred in the yad of the yotzer; so he made it again keli acher (another vessel, a different vessel), as seemed good to the eyes of the yotzer to make it.

⁵ Then the Devar Hashem came to me, saying,

⁶ O Bais Yisroel, cannot I do with you as this yotzer? saith Hashem. Hinei, as the khomer (clay) is in the yotzer’s yad, so are ye in Mine yad, O Bais Yisroel.

⁷ At what instant I shall speak concerning a Goy (nation), and concerning a mamlachah (kingdom), to uproot, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

⁸ If that Goy, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their ra’ah, I will relent of the ra’ah that I planned to do unto them.

⁹ And at what instant I shall speak concerning a Goy, and concerning a mamlachah, to build and to plant it;

¹⁰ If it do ra’ah in My sight, that it obey not My voice, then I will relent of the tov, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

¹¹ Now therefore go to, speak to the Ish Yehudah, and to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, saying, Thus saith Hashem; Hinei, I yotzer (mold as a potter) ra’ah against you, and devise a plan against you; return ye now every ish from his derech ra’ah, and make your ways and your doings good.

¹² And they said, It is useless; but we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every ish do the sherirut (stubbornness) of his lev ra’ah.

¹³ Therefore thus saith Hashem, Ask ye now among the Goyim, Who hath heard such things? The Betulat Yisroel hath done a most horrible thing.

¹⁴ Does the sheleg (snow) of Levanon vanish from the tzur of the slope? Or shall the cold flowing mayim that come from distant sources cease?

¹⁵ Because My people hath forgotten Me, they have burned ketoret to worthless idols, and they have caused them to stumble in their drakhim from the ancient paths, to walk in bypaths, and not on the derech built up;

¹⁶ To make their eretz desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and shall shake his rosh.

¹⁷ I will scatter them as with an east ruach (wind) before the oyev; I will show them My oref (back), and not My panim (face), in the day of their calamity.

¹⁸ Then said they, Come and let us devise plans against Yirmeyah; for the torah shall not perish from the kohen, nor etzah from the chacham, nor the davar from the navi. Come, and let us attack him with the lashon, and let us not give heed to any of his devarim.

¹⁹ Give heed to me, Hashem, and take notice of the voice of them that contend with me.

²⁰ Shall ra’ah be repaid for tovah? For they have dug a pit for my nefesh. Remember that I stood before Thee to speak tovah concerning them, and to turn away Thy wrath from them.

²¹ Therefore deliver up their banim to the ra’av (famine), and pour out their dahm by the force of the cherev; and let their nashim be bereaved as childless, and be almanot (widows); and let their anashim be put to death; let their bochurim be slain by the cherev in milchamah.

²² Let a cry be heard from their batim (houses), when Thou shalt bring a gedud (troop) suddenly upon them; for they have dug a pit to take me, and hid pachim (snares) for my raglayim.

²³ Yet, Hashem, Thou knowest all their etzah against me to slay me; do not make kapporah for their avon, neither blot out their chattat from Thy sight, but let them be overthrown before Thee; deal thus with them in the time of Thine anger.

19 Thus saith Hashem, Go and acquire a yotzer’s earthen jar, and take some of the Ziknei HaAm, and of the Ziknei HaKohanim;

² And go forth unto the Gey Ben-Hinnom, which is by the petach (entrance) of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the Devarim that I shall tell thee,

³ And say, Hear ye the Devar Hashem, O melachim of Yehudah, and inhabitants of Yerushalayim; Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os, the Elohei Yisroel; Behold, I will bring ra’ah upon this makom, the which whosoever heareth, his oznayim shall tingle.

⁴ Because they have forsaken Me, and have made this an alien place, and have burned [offerings] in it unto elohim acherim, whom neither they nor avoteihem have known, nor the melachim of Yehudah, and have filled this makom with the dahm of innocents;

⁵ They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their banim with eish for olot unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spoke it, neither came it into My lev;

⁶ Therefore, hinei, the days come, saith Hashem, that this makom shall no more be called Tophet, nor Gey Ben-Hinnom, but The Valley of Slaughter.

⁷ And I will make void the etzah of Yehudah and Yerushalayim in this makom; and I will cause them to fall by the cherev before their oyevim, and by the hands of them that seek their nefesh; and their nevelah (carcasses) will I give to be food for the oph HaShomayim, and for the behemat ha’aretz.

⁸ And I will make this city desolate, and an object of hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the makkot (plagues) thereof.

⁹ And I will cause them to eat the basar of their banim and the basar of their banot, and they shall eat every one the basar of his re’a in the siege and desperation, wherewith their oyevim, and they that seek their nefesh, shall drive them to despair.

¹⁰ Then shalt thou break the earthen jar in the sight of the anashim that go with thee,

¹¹ And shalt say unto them, Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a yotzer’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet, until there be no makom (place, room) to bury.

¹² Thus will I do unto this makom, saith Hashem, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet;

¹³ And the batim (houses) of Yerushalayim, and the batim (houses) of the melachim of Yehudah, shall be tameh as the makom of Tophet, because of all the batim (houses) upon whose roofs they have burned ketoret unto all the Tzeva HaShomayim, and have poured out nesakhim (drink offerings) unto elohim acherim.

¹⁴ Then came Yirmeyah from Tophet, from where Hashem had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the khatzer (courtyard) of the Beis Hashem; and said to kol HaAm,

¹⁵ Thus saith Hashem Tzva’os Elohei Yisroel; Hineni, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns kol hara’ah that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks, that they might not hear My Devarim.

20 Now Pashchur Ben Immer the kohen, who was also Pakid Nagid in the Beis Hashem, heard that Yirmeyah prophesied these things.

² Then Pashchur struck Yirmeyah HaNavi, and put him in the stocks that were in the Upper Gate of Binyamin, which was at the Beis Hashem.

³ And it came to pass on the next day, that Pashchur brought forth Yirmeyah out of the stocks. Then said Yirmeyah unto him, Hashem hath not called thy shem Pashchur, but Magor Missaviv (Terror on Every Side).

⁴ For thus saith Hashem, Hineni, I will make thee a magor (terror) to thyself, and to all thy friends; and they shall fall by the cherev of their oyevim, and thine eynayim shall behold it; and I will give kol Yehudah into the yad Melech Bavel, and he shall carry them captive into Bavel, and shall slay them with the cherev.

⁵ Moreover, I will deliver all the wealth of this city, and all the produce thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the otzarot of the melachim of Yehudah will I give into the yad of their oyevim, which shall plunder them, and seize them, and carry them to Bavel.

⁶ And thou, Pashchur, and all that dwell in thine bais shall go into the [Golus] captivity: and thou shalt come to Bavel, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied sheker.

⁷ Hashem, Thou hast induced me, and I was induced; Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed; I am a laughingstock all day long, every one mocketh me.

⁸ For since I spoke, I cried out, I cried chamas and destruction; because the Devar Hashem was made a cherpah (reproach) unto me, and a derision, all day long.

⁹ Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in Shmo. But His word was in Mine lev as a burning eish shut up in my atzmot, and I was weary of holding back, and I could not.

¹⁰ For I heard the slander of many, Magor (terror) on every side. Report, say they, let’s report him. Kol enosh shelomi watched for my stumbling, saying, Perhaps he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.

¹¹ But Hashem is with me as a Gibbor Aritz (Mighty Warrior): therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail; they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not succeed; their kelimat olam (everlasting dishonor) shall never be forgotten.

¹² But, Hashem Tzva’os, that tests the tzaddik, and seest the kelayot and the lev, let me see Thy vengeance on them; for unto Thee have I pled my cause.

¹³ Sing unto Hashem, hallelu Hashem; for He hath saved the nefesh of the evyon (poor) from the yad of evildoers.

¹⁴ Arur (cursed) be the day wherein I was born; let not the day wherein immi bore me yehi baruch (be blessed).

¹⁵ Arur (cursed) be the ish who brought news to avi, saying, A ben zachar (male child) is born unto thee; making him very glad.

¹⁶ And let that ish be as the towns which Hashem overthrew, and relented not; and let him hear the wailing in the boker, and the teru’ah (battle cry) at noontide;

¹⁷ Because he slaughtered me not from the womb; or that immi might have been my kever, and olam (forever) her womb enlarged.

¹⁸ Why came I forth out of the womb to see amal (trouble, toil) and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?

21 The Davar which came unto Yirmeyah from Hashem, when HaMelech Tzidkiyah sent unto him Pashchur Ben Malkiyah, and Tzephanyah Ben Ma’aseiyah the kohen, saying,

² Inquire, now, of Hashem for us; for Nevuchadretzar Melech Bavel maketh war against us; if it be so that Hashem will deal with us according to all His nifle’ot (wondrous deeds), that he may withdraw from us.

³ Then said Yirmeyah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Tzidkiyah;

⁴ Thus saith Hashem Elohei Yisroel; Hineni, I will turn back against you the weapons of milchamah (war) that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against Melech Bavel, and against the Kasdim (Chaldeans), which besiege you outside the chomah (wall), and I will assemble them inside this city.

⁵ And I Myself will fight against you with an outstretched yad (hand) and with a zero’a chazakah (strong arm), even in anger, and in chemah, and in ketzef gadol (great wrath).

⁶ And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both ha’adam and habehemah; they shall die of dever gadol (great plague).

⁷ And afterward, saith Hashem, I will deliver Tzidkiyah Melech Yehudah, and his avadim, and HaAm, and such as are survivors in this city from dever, from the cherev, and from the ra’av (famine), into the yad Nevuchadretzar Melech Bavel, and into the yad of their oyevim (enemies), and into the yad of those that seek their nefesh; and he shall strike them down with the edge of the cherev; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have rachamim.

⁸ And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith Hashem; Hineni, I set before you the Derech HaChayyim and the Derech HaMavet.

⁹ He that abideth in this city shall die by cherev, and by ra’av (famine), and by dever (plague); but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Kasdim (Chaldeans) that besiege you, he shall live, and his nefesh shall be unto him as plunder.

¹⁰ For I have set my face against this city for ra’ah, and not for tovah, saith Hashem; it shall be given into the yad Melech Bavel, and he shall set eish to it to burn it down.

¹¹ And touching the Bais Melech Yehudah, say, Hear ye the Devar Hashem;

¹² O Bais Dovid, thus saith Hashem; Execute mishpat in the boker, and save him that is robbed out of the yad oshek (hand of the oppressor), lest My chemah (fury) go out like eish, and burn that none can quench it, because of the wickedness of your deeds.

¹³ Hineni, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the emek (valley), and tzur (rock) of the plain, saith Hashem; which say, Who shall come down against us? Or who shall enter into our me’onot (dwelling places, homes)?

¹⁴ But I will visit you in punishment according to the p’ri (fruit) of your deeds, saith Hashem; and I will kindle an eish in the ya’ar (forest) thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.

22 Thus saith Hashem; Go down to the Bais Melech Yehudah, and speak there this Davar,

² And say, Hear the Devar Hashem, O Melech Yehudah, that sittest upon the kisse of Dovid, thou, and thy avadim, and thy people that enter in by these she’arim (gates);

³ Thus saith Hashem; Execute ye mishpat (justice) and tzedakah (righteousness), and save the plundered out of the yad of the oshek (oppressor); and do no wrong, do no violence to the ger (alien), the yatom (orphan), nor the almanah (widow), neither shed dahm naki (innocent blood) in this makom (place).

⁴ For if ye carry out this davar indeed, then, shall there enter in by the she’arim (gates) of this Bais, melachim sitting upon the kisse Dovid, riding in chariots and on susim, he, and his avadim, and his people.

⁵ But if ye will not hear these devarim, I swear a shevuah by Myself, saith Hashem, that this Bais shall become a desolation.

⁶ For thus saith Hashem unto the Bais Melech Yehudah: Thou art [in grandeur] Gil‘ad unto Me, and the summit of the Levanon; yet surely I will make thee a midbar, and towns which are not inhabited.

⁷ And I will prepare mashchitim (destroyers) against thee, every ish with his weapons; and they shall cut down thy choice arazim (cedars), and cast them into the eish.

⁸ And Goyim rabbim shall pass by this city, and they shall say every ish to his re’a (neighbor), Why hath Hashem done thus unto this ir hagedolah (great city)?

⁹ Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the Brit Hashem Eloheihem, and worshiped elohim acherim, and served them.

¹⁰ Weep ye not for the one dead, neither mourn him; but weep bitterly for him that goeth away [into the Golus]; for he shall return no more, nor see his eretz moledet (native land).

¹¹ For thus saith Hashem touching Shallum Ben Yoshiyah Melech Yehudah, which reigned in place of Yoshiyah aviv, which went forth out of this makom; he shall not return there any more;

¹² But he shall die in the makom where they have led him captive [into the Golus], and he shall see HaAretz Hazot no more.

¹³ Woe unto him that buildeth his bais but not by tzedek (righteousness), and his aliyyot (upper chambers) but not by mishpat; that useth his neighbor’s service without wages, and giveth him no pay for his work;

¹⁴ That saith, I will build me a large bais (mansion) and spacious aliyyot (upper rooms), and cutteth him out chalonot (windows); and panel it with erez (cedar), and paint with bright red.

¹⁵ Shalt thou reign, because thou enclose thyself in erez (cedar)? Did not Avicha eat and drink, and do mishpat and tzedakah, and then it was tov (well) with him?

¹⁶ He defended the cause of the oni (poor) and evyon (needy); then it was tov (well) with him; was not this to have da’as of Me? saith Hashem.

¹⁷ But thine eynayim (eyes) and thine lev are but for thy betza (covetousness, greed) and for to shed dahm hanaki (innocent blood), and for oshek (oppression), and for merutzah (extortion, persecution), to do it.

¹⁸ Therefore thus saith Hashem concerning Y’hoyakim Ben Yoshiyah Melech Yehudah: They shall not mourn for him, saying, Ah achi! Or, Ah achot (sister)! They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah adon! Or, Ah his hod (glory)!

¹⁹ He shall be buried with the kevurat chamor (burial of a donkey), dragged and cast forth outside the Sha’arei Yerushalayim.

²⁰ Go up to the Levanon, and cry out; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry out from Avarim; for all thy lovers are crushed.

²¹ I spoke unto thee in thy security; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy derech from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not My kol (voice).

²² The ruach shall eat up all thy ro’im (rulers), and thy lovers shall go into captivity [in the Golus]; surely then shalt thou be ashamed and humiliated because of all thy wickedness.

²³ O inhabitant of the Levanon, that makest thy ken (nest) in the arazim (cedars), how shalt thou groan when chavalim (birth pangs) come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!

²⁴ As I live, saith Hashem, though Coniyahu [Yehoiakhin, Yechonyahu] Ben Y’hoyakim Melech Yehudah were the chotam (signet ring) upon Yad Yemini (My right Hand), yet would I pluck thee from there [2Kgs 23:33-34].

²⁵ And I will give thee into the yad of them that seek thy nefesh, and into the yad of them of whom thou art afraid, even into the yad of Nevuchadretzar Melech Babylon, and into the yad of the Kasdim.

²⁶ And I will cast thee out, and immecha that bore thee, into ha’aretz acheret (another country), where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.

²⁷ But to HaAretz whereunto they desire to return, to these shall they not return.

²⁸ Is this man Coniyahu a despised broken etzev (image, statue)? Is he a vessel wherein is no chefetz? Why are they cast out, he and his zera, and are cast into ha’aretz which they know not?

²⁹ O eretz, eretz, eretz, hear the Devar Hashem.

³⁰ Thus saith Hashem, Write ye this ish ariri (childless, stripped of the honor that progeny bestows), a gever (man) who shall not prosper in his days; for none of his zera shall prosper, sitting upon the kisse Dovid, or moshel od (rule anymore) in Yehudah.