Jeremiah 19
English Standard Version Anglicised
The Broken Flask
19 Thus says the Lord, “Go, buy (A)a potter's earthenware (B)flask, and take some of (C)the elders of the people and some of (D)the elders of the priests, 2 and go out (E)to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. 3 You shall say, (F)‘Hear the word of the Lord, (G)O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that (H)the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 4 (I)Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; (J)and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, 5 (K)and have built the high places of Baal (L)to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, (M)which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind— 6 therefore, (N)behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or (O)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 And in this place (P)I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, (Q)and will cause their people to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. (R)I will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this city (S)a horror, (T)a thing to be hissed at. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its wounds. 9 (U)And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbour (V)in the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.’
10 “Then (W)you shall break (X)the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, 11 and shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, (Y)as one breaks a potter's vessel, (Z)so that it can never be mended. (AA)Men shall bury in Topheth because there will be no other place to bury. 12 Thus will I do to this place, declares the Lord, and to its inhabitants, making this city (AB)like Topheth. 13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah—(AC)all the houses on whose (AD)roofs offerings have been offered (AE)to all the host of heaven, and (AF)drink offerings have been poured out to other gods—shall be defiled (AG)like the place of Topheth.’”
14 Then Jeremiah came from (AH)Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, (AI)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 bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, (AJ)because they have stiffened their neck, (AK)refusing to hear my words.”
Jeremiah 19
GOD’S WORD Translation
Israel Will Be Smashed Like a Clay Jar
19 This is what the Lord says: Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders of the priests. 2 Go to the valley of Ben Hinnom at the entrance to Potsherd Gate. Announce there the things I plan to do. 3 Say, “Listen to the Lord’s word, you kings of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I’m going to bring such a disaster on this place that the ears of everyone who hears about it will ring.
4 “The people, their ancestors, and the kings of Judah have abandoned me. They have made this place unrecognizable by burning incense as an offering to other gods that they hadn’t heard of. They have filled this place with the blood of innocent people. 5 They have built worship sites to burn their children as sacrifices to Baal. I didn’t ask them or command them to do this. It never entered my mind.
6 “That is why the days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben Hinnom. Instead, it will be called Slaughter Valley. 7 I will smash the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will cut them down with swords in front of their enemies and with the hands of those who want to kill them. I will give their bodies as food to birds and to animals. 8 I will devastate this city. It will become something to hiss at. Everyone who goes by it will be stunned and hiss with contempt at all the disasters that happen to it. 9 I will make the people eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. They will eat each other’s flesh during blockades and hardships that their enemies impose on them when they want to kill them.”
10 ⌞The Lord says,⌟ “Then smash the jar in front of the men who went with you. 11 Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: I will smash these people and this city as this potter’s jar was smashed beyond repair. They will bury ⌞the dead⌟ in Topheth until there’s no other place to bury them. 12 That’s what I will do to this place and to those who live in it, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses in Jerusalem, the houses of the kings of Judah, and all the rooftops of the houses will be unclean [a] like this city Topheth. This is because people burned incense to the entire army of heaven and poured out wine offerings to other gods.’ ”
14 Then Jeremiah left Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy. He stood in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I’m going to bring on this city and on all its towns the disasters that I threatened. They’ve become impossible to deal with, and they refuse to obey me.”
Footnotes
- 19:13 “Unclean ” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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