Jeremiah 19

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, a person who makes pots. Take some of the older leaders of the people with you. Take some of the leading priests too. Priests are the men who serve God at his house."

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,

2"Then go out to the Valley of Ben-hinnom, near the gate where broken pots were thrown out. Say there the words I tell you to say."

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.

3"Say this: Listen to the word of the LORD, kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says. He is the God of Israel. I am going to bring something terrible on this place. Everyone who hears about it will have ringing ears."

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;

4"They have left me. They have made this place a place for strangers. Here they burned incense to other gods. Incense is a spice that makes sweet smoke when it burns. They did not know those gods. Their fathers did not know them, and neither did the kings of Judah. 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:

5"They also built altars on the hills for the god Baal. There they burned their own children in the fire as gifts to Baal. I never told them to do this. I never even spoke of it. It never came into my mind."

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.

6"So the days are coming, says the LORD, when this place will get a new name. It will not be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom anymore. It will be called the Valley of Killing."

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.

7"In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword in front of their enemies. Those enemies want them dead. I will give their dead bodies to the birds and the wild animals for food."

NoteThe old word "meat" here means food of any kind, not just meat from animals.

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.

8"I will make this city empty and ruined. People will look down on it. Everyone who walks past will be shocked. They will hiss at how badly the city is hurt."

NoteHissing was a sound people made to show shock and scorn at what had happened.

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.

9"I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. They will eat one another's flesh too. This will happen when enemy armies surround the city and shut them in. Those enemies want them dead, and they will squeeze the city hard."

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

10"Then 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.

11"Say to them: This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says. I will break this people and this city in the same way. A potter's jar breaks and can never be mended again. They will bury the dead in Topheth 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:

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

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.

13"The houses of Jerusalem will become unclean, just like that place called Topheth. So will the houses of the kings of Judah. On the flat roofs of those houses people burned incense to the sun, the moon, and the stars. They also poured out wine as gifts 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 Topheth. The LORD had sent him there to tell the people God's message. Jeremiah stood in the courtyard of the LORD's house. He spoke 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.

15He said, "This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says. He is the God of Israel. I am going to bring on this city every bad thing I said would come. I will bring it on all the towns around it too. This is because they have been stubborn and would not listen to my words."

Note"They have hardened their necks" is an old way of saying they stiffly refused to listen.