Chapter 19

Thus saith¹ the LORD, Go² and get¹ a potter's⁶ earthen bottle, and [take] of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests;

And go forth¹ unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which [is] by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim¹ there the words that I shall tell¹⁷ thee,

And say,¹ Hear³ ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants⁶ of Jerusalem; Thus saith¹ the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring⁵⁶ evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth,⁶ his ears shall tingle.⁴

Because they have forsaken¹ me, and have estranged¹⁷ this place, and have burned incense¹⁷ in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known,¹ nor the kings of Judah, and have filled¹ this place with the blood of innocents;

They have built¹ also the high places of Baal, to burn² their sons with fire [for] burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded¹⁴ not, nor spake¹⁴ [it], neither came¹ [it] into my mind:

Therefore, behold, the days come,⁶ saith⁷ the LORD, that this place shall no more be called¹¹ Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.

And I will make void¹ the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall⁵² by the sword before their enemies,⁶ and by the hands of them that seek¹⁸ their lives: and their carcases will I give¹ to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

And I will make¹ this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth⁶ thereby shall be astonished⁴ and hiss⁴ because of all the plagues thereof.

And I will cause them to eat⁵² the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat⁴ every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies,⁶ and they that seek¹⁸ their lives, shall straiten⁵⁵ them.

Then shalt thou break¹ the bottle in the sight of the men that go⁶ with thee,

And shalt say¹ unto them, Thus saith¹ the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break⁴ this people and this city, as [one] breaketh⁴ a potter's⁶ vessel, that cannot ^{3201 4} be made whole⁹ again: and they shall bury⁴ [them] in Tophet, till [there be] no place to bury.²

Thus will I do⁴ unto this place, saith⁷ the LORD, and to the inhabitants⁶ thereof, and [even] make² this city as Tophet:

And 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 incense¹⁴ unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out⁵³ drink offerings unto other gods.

Then came⁴ Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent¹ him to prophesy;⁹ and he stood⁴ in the court of the LORD'S house; and said⁴ to all the people,

Thus saith¹ the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring⁵⁶ upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced¹⁴ against it, because they have hardened⁵² their necks, that they might not hear² my words.