Add parallel Print Page Options

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

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,

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.

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;

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;

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).