The Sign of the Broken Flask

19 Thus says the Lord: “Go and get a potter’s earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests. And go out to (A)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the Potsherd Gate; and proclaim there the words that I will tell you, (B)and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will (C)tingle.

“Because they (D)have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with (E)the blood of the innocents (F)(they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, (G)which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind), therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that this place shall no more be called Tophet or (H)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, (I)and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who seek their lives; their (J)corpses I will give as meat for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. I will make this city (K)desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues. And I will cause them to eat the (L)flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.” ’

10 (M)“Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, 11 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: (N)“Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be [a]made whole again; and they shall (O)bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury. 12 Thus I will do to this place,” says the Lord, “and to its inhabitants, and make this city like Tophet. 13 And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled (P)like the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose (Q)roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and (R)poured out drink offerings to other gods.” ’ ”

14 Then Jeremiah came from Tophet, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in (S)the court of the Lord’s house and said to all the people, 15 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because (T)they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.’ ”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 19:11 restored

The Broken Jar

19 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a (A)potter’s earthenware (B)jar, and take some of the (C)elders of the people and some of the [a](D)senior priests. Then go out to the (E)Valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the [b]Potsherd Gate, and (F)proclaim there the words that I tell you, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you (G)kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold I am going to bring a (H)disaster upon this place, at which the (I)ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle. Since they have (J)abandoned Me and have (K)made this place foreign, and have burned [c]sacrifices in it to (L)other gods that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and since they have filled this place with the (M)blood of the innocent and have built the (N)high places of Baal to burn their (O)sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I did not command nor speak of, nor did it ever enter My [d]mind; therefore, behold, (P)days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this place will no longer be called (Q)Topheth or (R)the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the Valley of Slaughter. And I will (S)frustrate the planning of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and (T)I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I will make their (U)carcasses food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth. I will also turn this city into an object of (V)horror and [e]hissing; (W)everyone who passes by it will be appalled and [f]hiss because of all its [g]disasters. And I will make them (X)eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh during the siege and in the hardship with which their enemies and those who seek their life will torment them.”’

10 “Then you are to break the (Y)jar in the sight of the men who accompany you, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “To the same extent I will (Z)break this people and this city, just as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will (AA)bury their dead in Topheth, [h]because there is no other place for burial. 12 This is how I will treat this place and its inhabitants,” declares the Lord, “so as to make this city like Topheth. 13 The (AB)houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be (AC)defiled like the place Topheth, because of all the (AD)houses on whose rooftops they burned [i]sacrifices to (AE)all the heavenly [j]lights and (AF)poured out drink offerings to other gods.”’”

14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the (AG)courtyard of the Lords house and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am going to bring on this city and all its towns the entire disaster that I have declared against it, because they have (AH)stiffened their necks so (AI)as not to listen to My words.’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 19:1 Or elders of the
  2. Jeremiah 19:2 I.e., pottery fragment
  3. Jeremiah 19:4 Or incense
  4. Jeremiah 19:5 Lit heart
  5. Jeremiah 19:8 Or whistling
  6. Jeremiah 19:8 Or whistle
  7. Jeremiah 19:8 Lit wounds
  8. Jeremiah 19:11 Or until there is no place left to bury
  9. Jeremiah 19:13 Or incense
  10. Jeremiah 19:13 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.

The Broken Jar

19 Thus says the Lord, “Go and buy a potter’s earthenware jar, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests and go out to the Valley of Ben-hinnom (son of Hinnom), which is near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate; and proclaim there the words that I tell you, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold (listen carefully), I am going to bring such disaster on this place that the ears of everyone who hears about it will tingle [in shock]. Because the people [of Jerusalem] have abandoned (rejected) Me and have made this an alien and profaned place by burning sacrifices and incense in it to other gods, that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind (heart); therefore, listen very closely, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when this place shall no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.(A) I will pour out and nullify the counsel (plans) of [the men of] Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will make their people fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their lives; and I will give their dead bodies as food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth. I will make this city a desolation and an object of hissing; everyone who passes by it will be amazed and will hiss [in scorn] because of all its plagues and disasters. And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and each one will eat one another’s flesh during the siege and distress brought by their enemies and those who seek their lives.”’

10 “Then you are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you, 11 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “This is the way I will break this people and this city as one breaks a potter’s vessel, so that it cannot be mended. They will bury [corpses] in Topheth until there is no more room left [in that place] to bury [the dead]. 12 This I will do to this place,” says the Lord, “and to its inhabitants; and I will even make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth, all the houses on whose rooftops incense has been burned to all the host of heaven (sun, moon, stars), and where drink offerings have been poured out to other gods.”’”(B)

14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lord’s house and said to all the people: 15 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am going to bring on this city and on all its towns, all the devastation that I have declared against it, because they have become stiff-necked and refused to hear and obey My words.’”

19 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.(A) Take along some of the elders(B) of the people and of the priests and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(C) near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings(D) of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster(E) on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.(F) For they have forsaken(G) me and made this a place of foreign gods(H); they have burned incense(I) in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.(J) They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children(K) in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.(L) So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth(M) or the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(N) but the Valley of Slaughter.(O)

“‘In this place I will ruin[a] the plans(P) of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies,(Q) at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses(R) as food(S) to the birds and the wild animals. I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn;(T) all who pass by will be appalled(U) and will scoff because of all its wounds.(V) I will make them eat(W) the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies(X) will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’

10 “Then break the jar(Y) while those who go with you are watching, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash(Z) this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury(AA) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 12 This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses(AB) in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled(AC) like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs(AD) to all the starry hosts(AE) and poured out drink offerings(AF) to other gods.’”

14 Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court(AG) of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster(AH) I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked(AI) and would not listen(AJ) to my words.’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 19:7 The Hebrew for ruin sounds like the Hebrew for jar (see verses 1 and 10).