Jeremiah 19:1–21:14

This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.l Take along some of the eldersm of the people and of the priests 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom,n near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kingso of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disasterp on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.q 4 For they have forsakenr me and made this a place of foreign godss; they have burned incenset 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.u 5 They have built the high places of Baal to burn their childrenv in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.w 6 So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Tophethx or the Valley of Ben Hinnom,y but the Valley of Slaughter.z

7 “ ‘In this place I will ruina the plansa of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies,b at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcassesc as foodd to the birds and the wild animals. 8 I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn;e all who pass by will be appalledf and will scoff because of all its wounds.g 9 I will make them eath the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemiesi will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’

10 “Then break the jarj while those who go with you are watching, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smashk this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will buryl 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 housesm in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiledn like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofso to all the starry hostsp and poured out drink offeringsq to other gods.’ ”

14 Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the courtr 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 disasters I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-neckedt and would not listenu to my words.’ ”

Jeremiah and Pashhur

20 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer,v the officialw in charge of the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beatenx and put in the stocksy at the Upper Gate of Benjaminz at the Lord’s temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s namea for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.b 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyesc you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will gived all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carrye them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. 5 I will deliver all the wealthf of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it awayg as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesiedh lies.’ ”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

7 You deceiveda i me, Lord, and I was deceivedb;

you overpoweredj me and prevailed.

I am ridiculedk all day long;

everyone mocksl me.

8 Whenever I speak, I cry out

proclaiming violence and destruction.m

So the word of the Lord has brought me

insult and reproachn all day long.

9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word

or speak anymore in his name,”o

his word is in my heart like a fire,p

a fire shut up in my bones.

I am weary of holding it in;q

indeed, I cannot.

10 I hear many whispering,

“Terrorr on every side!

Denounces him! Let’s denounce him!”

All my friendst

are waiting for me to slip,u saying,

“Perhaps he will be deceived;

then we will prevailv over him

and take our revengew on him.”

11 But the Lordx is with me like a mighty warrior;

so my persecutorsy will stumble and not prevail.z

They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;a

their dishonor will never be forgotten.

12 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous

and probe the heart and mind,b

let me see your vengeancec on them,

for to you I have committedd my cause.

13 Singe to the Lord!

Give praise to the Lord!

He rescuesf the life of the needy

from the hands of the wicked.g

14 Cursed be the day I was born!h

May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!

15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,

who made him very glad, saying,

“A child is born to you—a son!”

16 May that man be like the townsi

the Lord overthrew without pity.

May he hear wailingj in the morning,

a battle cry at noon.

17 For he did not kill me in the womb,k

with my mother as my grave,

her womb enlarged forever.

18 Why did I ever come out of the wombl

to see troublem and sorrow

and to end my days in shame?n

God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request

21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiaho sent to him Pashhurp son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniahq son of Maaseiah. They said: 2 “Inquirer now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzara s king of Babylont is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wondersu for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”

3 But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turnv against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babyloniansb who are outside the wall besiegingw you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5 I myself will fightx against you with an outstretched handy and a mighty armz in furious anger and in great wrath. 6 I will strikea down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.b 7 After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiahc king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,d sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylone and to their enemiesf who want to kill them.g He will put them to the sword;h he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’i

8 “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of lifej and the way of death. 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.k But whoever goes out and surrendersl to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.m 10 I have determined to do this city harmn and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the handso of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’p

11 “Moreover, say to the royal houseq of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. 12 This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:

“ ‘Administer justicer every morning;

rescue from the hand of the oppressors

the one who has been robbed,

or my wrath will break out and burn like firet

because of the evilu you have done—

burn with no one to quenchv it.

13 I am againstw you, Jerusalem,

you who live above this valleyx

on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—

you who say, “Who can come against us?

Who can enter our refuge?”y

14 I will punish you as your deedsz deserve,

declares the Lord.

I will kindle a firea in your forestsb

that will consume everything around you.’ ”