Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

19 The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people. Also tell some of the priests to go with you. ² Go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom. Stand near the entrance of the gate where broken pieces of pottery are thrown away. There announce the message I give you. ³ Tell the people, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Listen! I am going to bring trouble on Jerusalem. It will be so horrible that it will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring. ⁴ My people have deserted me. They have made this city a place where other gods are worshiped. They have burned incense to them here. They, their people of long ago and the kings of Judah had never known these gods. My people have also filled this place with the blood of those who aren’t guilty. ⁵ They have built the high places where they worship Baal. There they sacrifice their children in the fire as offerings to Baal. That is something I did not command or talk about. It did not even enter my mind. ⁶ So watch out!” announces the Lord. “The days are coming when people will not call this place Topheth anymore. And they will not call it the Valley of Ben Hinnom either. Instead, they will call it the Valley of Death.

⁷ “ ‘ “In this place I will make the plans of Judah and Jerusalem as useless as a broken jar. I will use their enemies to kill my people by swords. They will die at the hands of those who want to take their lives. I will give their dead bodies as food to the birds and the wild animals. ⁸ I will completely destroy this city. I will make it a horrible thing. People will make fun of it. All those who pass by it will be shocked. They will laugh at its people because of all their wounds. ⁹ I will make the people of this city eat their sons and daughters. And they will eat one another. They will do this because things will be so bad during the attack. The enemies who want to take their lives will bring all this trouble on them.” ’

¹⁰ “Jeremiah, break the jar while those who go with you are watching. ¹¹ Tell them, ‘Here is what the Lord who rules over all says. “This potter’s jar is smashed and can’t be repaired. And I will smash this nation and this city. People will bury their dead in Topheth. But they will run out of room. ¹² Here is what I will do to Jerusalem and those who live here,” ’ announces the Lord. ‘ “I will make this city like Topheth. ¹³ The houses in Jerusalem will be made ‘unclean’ like Topheth. So will the houses of the kings of Judah. All these people burned incense on their roofs to all the stars. They poured out drink offerings to other gods.” ’ ”

¹⁴ Then Jeremiah returned from Topheth. That’s where the Lord had sent him to prophesy. Jeremiah stood in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. He spoke to all the people. He said, ¹⁵ “The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Listen! I am going to punish this city and all the villages around it. I am going to bring against them all the trouble I have announced. That’s because my people were stubborn. They would not listen to what I said.’ ”

¹¹ “The traders of the world will weep and mourn over her. No one buys what they sell anymore. ¹² Here is what they had for sale.

¹⁴ “The merchants will say, ‘The pleasure you longed for has left you. All your riches and glory have disappeared forever.’ ¹⁵ The traders who sold these things became rich because of Babylon. When she suffers, they will stand far away. Her suffering will terrify them. They will weep and mourn. ¹⁶ They will cry out,

“Every sea captain and all who travel by ship will stand far away. So will the sailors and all who earn their living from the sea. ¹⁸ They will see the smoke rising as Babylon burns. They will ask, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ ¹⁹ They will throw dust on their heads. They will weep and mourn. They will cry out,