< Jeremiah 19 >

1 Thus sayth the Lord, Goe, and buy an earthen bottel of a potter, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the Priests,
This is what the Lord has said: Go and get for money a potter's bottle made of earth, and take with you some of the responsible men of the people and of the priests;
2 And goe forth vnto the valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrie of the East gate: and thou shalt preache there the wordes, that I shall tell thee,
And go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom, by the way into the door of broken pots, and there say in a loud voice the words which I will give you;
3 And shalt say, Heare yee the worde of the Lord, O Kings of Iudah, and inhabitantes of Ierusalem, Thus sayth the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring a plague vpon this place, the which whosoeuer heareth, his eares shall tingle.
Say, Give ear to the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem; the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, See, I will send evil on this place which will be bitter to the ears of anyone hearing of it.
4 Because they haue forsaken me, and prophaned this place, and haue burnt incense in it vnto other gods, whome neyther they, nor their fathers haue knowen, nor the Kings of Iudah (they haue filled this place also with the blood of innocents,
Because they have given me up, and made this place a strange place, burning perfumes in it to other gods, of whom they and their fathers and the kings of Judah had no knowledge; and they have made this place full of the blood of those who have done no wrong;
5 And they haue built the hie places of Baal, to burne their sonnes with fire for burnt offrings vnto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my minde)
And they have put up the high places of the Baal, burning their sons in the fire; a thing which was not ordered by me, and it was never in my mind:
6 Therefore behold, the dayes come, sayth the Lord, that this place shall no more be called Topheth, nor ye valley of Ben-hinnom, but the valley of slaughter.
For this cause, see, a time is coming, says the Lord, when this place will no longer be named Topheth, or, The valley of the son of Hinnom, but, The valley of Death.
7 And I will bring the counsell of Iudah and Ierusalem to nought in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of them that seeke their liues: and their carkeises will I giue to be meate for ye foules of the heauen, and to the beastes of the fielde.
I will make the purpose of Judah and Jerusalem come to nothing in this place; I will have them put to the sword by their haters, and by the hands of those who have designs on their life; and their dead bodies I will give to be food for the birds of heaven and the beasts of the earth.
8 And I will make this citie desolate and an hissing, so that euery one that passeth thereby, shalbe astonished and hisse because of all ye plagues thereof.
And I will make this town a thing of wonder and a cause of surprise; everyone who goes by will be overcome with wonder and make sounds of surprise, because of all its troubles.
9 And I will feede the with the flesh of their sonnes and with the flesh of their daughters, and euery one shall eate the flesh of his friende in the siege and straitnesse, wherewith their enemies that seeke their liues, shall hold them strait.
I will make them take the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters for food, they will be making a meal of one another, because of their bitter need and the cruel grip of their haters and those who have made designs against their life.
10 Then shalt thou breake the bottell in the sight of the men that go with thee,
Then let the potter's bottle be broken before the eyes of the men who have gone with you,
11 And shalt say vnto them, Thus saith ye Lord of hostes, Euen so will I breake this people and this citie, as one breaketh a potters vessell, that cannot be made whole againe, and they shall bury them in Topheth till there be no place to bury.
And say to them, This is what the Lord of armies has said: Even so will this people and this town be broken by me, as a potter's bottle is broken and may not be put together again: and the bodies of the dead will be put in the earth in Topheth, till there is no more room.
12 Thus will I doe vnto this place, sayth the Lord, and to the inhabitantes thereof, and I will make this citie like Topheth.
This is what I will do to this place, says the Lord, and to its people, making this town like Topheth:
13 For the houses of Ierusalem, and the houses of the Kings of Iudah shalbe defiled as the place of Topheth, because of al the houses vpon whose roofes they haue burnt incense vnto all the host of heauen, and haue powred out drinke offerings vnto other gods.
And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which they have made unclean, will be like the place of Topheth, even all the houses on whose roofs perfumes have been burned to all the army of heaven, and drink offerings drained out to other gods.
14 Then came Ieremiah from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophecie, and he stood in the court of the Lordes house, and sayde to all the people,
Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to give the prophet's word; and he took his place in the open square of the Lord's house, and said to all the people,
15 Thus saith the Lord of hostes, the God of Israel, Beholde, I will bring vpon this citie, and vpon all her townes, all the plagues that I haue pronounced against it, because they haue hardened their neckes, and would not heare my wordes.
The Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: See, I will send on this town and on all her towns all the evil which I have said; because they made their necks stiff, so that they might not give ear to my words.

< Jeremiah 19 >