Jeremiah

Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests;

1This is what the LORD said: "Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take with you some of the leaders of the people and some of the leading priests.

2And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee,

2Go out to the Valley of Ben-hinnom, by the gate where broken pots are dumped. Say there the words I give you.

NoteThe KJV calls it "the east gate," but the Hebrew name means the Potsherd Gate. It was the gate near the dump where broken pottery was thrown out.

3And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.

3Say this: 'Listen to the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah and you people of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD who commands armies, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such trouble on this place that the ears of everyone who hears about it will ring.

4Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;

4This is because they have left me. They have made this place strange to me. They have burned incense here to other gods that they never knew, and their fathers and the kings of Judah never knew. They have filled this place with the blood of people who did nothing wrong.

5They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:

5They have built worship places for Baal, where they burn their own children in the fire as offerings to Baal. I never commanded that. I never spoke of it. It never even entered my mind.

Note"High places" were outdoor worship sites, often built on hills or raised platforms, used for offerings to gods other than the LORD.

6Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.

6So look, the days are coming, says the LORD, when no one will call this place Tophet or the Valley of Ben-hinnom anymore. They will call it the Valley of Slaughter.

NoteTophet was a spot in the Valley of Ben-hinnom where people burned children as offerings. The valley lay just outside Jerusalem's wall.

7And I will 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 hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

7In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will let them fall by the sword in front of their enemies, killed by people who want them dead. I will give their dead bodies to the birds of the sky and the wild animals as food.

8And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.

8I will leave this city empty and ruined, a thing people sneer at. Everyone who passes by will be shocked and will jeer at all its wounds.

9And 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 straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.

9I will make them eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters. They will eat one another's flesh while enemy armies surround the city and squeeze them, hunting for their lives.'

10Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee,

10Then break the jar while the men who came with you are watching.

11And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD 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 them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.

11Say to them: 'This is what the LORD who commands armies says: I will break this people and this city just like this. It will be like a clay jar that is smashed and can never be mended. They will bury the dead in Tophet until there is no room left to bury anyone.

12Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet:

12That is what I will do to this place and to the people who live here, says the LORD. I will make this city like Tophet.

13And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of 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.

13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will become unclean, just like Tophet. On the flat roofs of those houses the people burned incense to the sun, moon, and stars, and poured out drink offerings to other gods.'"

14Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD’s house; and said to all the people,

14Then Jeremiah came back from Tophet, where the LORD had sent him to speak God's message. He stood in the courtyard of the LORD's temple and said to all the people,

15Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.

15"This is what the LORD who commands armies, the God of Israel, says: 'Look, I am about to bring on this city, and on all the towns around it, every disaster I promised. They have been stubborn and refused to listen to my words.'"