Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

19 Thus said Jehovah, Go, and buy a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests; ² and go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of ^[a]the gate Harsith, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee; ³ and say, Hear ye the word of Jehovah, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. ⁴ Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, that they knew not, they and their fathers and the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents, ⁵ and have built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons in the fire for burnt-offerings unto Baal; which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my ^[b]mind: ⁶ therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that this place shall no more be called Topheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of Slaughter. ⁷ And I will ^[c]make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies will I give to be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth. ⁸ And I will make this city an astonishment, and a hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof. ⁹ And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters; and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend, in the siege and in the distress, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their life, shall distress them.

¹⁰ Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee, ¹¹ and shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury in Topheth, ^[d]till there be no place to bury. ¹² Thus will I do unto this place, saith Jehovah, and to the inhabitants thereof, even making this city as Topheth: ¹³ and the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, shall be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink-offerings unto other gods.

¹⁴ Then came Jeremiah from Topheth, whither Jehovah had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of Jehovah’s house, and said to all the people: ¹⁵ Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it; because they have made their neck stiff, that they may not hear my words.

¹¹ And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth their ^[a]merchandise any more; ^12 [b]merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet; and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel made of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble; ¹³ and cinnamon, and ^[c]spice, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and merchandise of horses and chariots and ^[d]slaves; and ^[e]souls of men. ¹⁴ And the fruits which thy soul lusted after are gone from thee, and all things that were dainty and sumptuous are perished from thee, and men shall find them no more at all. ¹⁵ The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning; ¹⁶ saying, Woe, woe, the great city, she that was arrayed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and ^[f]decked with gold and precious stone and pearl! ¹⁷ for in one hour so great riches is made desolate. And every shipmaster, and every one that saileth any whither, and mariners, and as many as ^[g]gain their living by sea, stood afar off, ¹⁸ and cried out as they looked upon the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like the great city? ¹⁹ And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, wherein all that had their ships in the sea were made rich by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate. ²⁰ Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her.