Jeremiah

you. Tell them what I tell you. 3Say to those
who are with you, ‘King of Judah* and people
of Jerusalem, listen to this message from the
Lord! This is what the Lord All- Powerful, the
God of the people of Israel,* says: I will soon
make a terrible thing happen to this place!
Everyone who hears about it will be amazed
and full of fear. 4I will do these things because
the people of Judah have stopped following
me. They have made this a place for foreign
gods. The people of Judah have burned sacrifices
in this place to other gods. The people
long ago did not worship those gods. Their
ancestors* did not worship them. These are
new gods from other countries. The kings
of Judah filled this place with the blood of
innocent children. 5The kings of Judah built
high places* for the god Baal.* They use those
places to burn their sons in the fire. They
burned their sons as burnt offerings to the
god Baal. I did not tell them to do that. I did
not ask them to offer their sons as sacrifices.
I never even thought of such a thing. 6Now
people call this place Topheth and the Valley
of Hinnom. But I give you this warning.
This message is from the Lord: The days are
coming, when people will call this place the
Valley of Slaughter. 7At this place, I will ruin
the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
The enemy will chase them, and I will
let the people of Judah be killed with swords
in this place. I will make their dead bodies
food for the birds and wild animals. 8I will
completely destroy this city. People will whistle
and shake their heads when they pass by
Jerusalem. They will be shocked when they
see how the city was destroyed. 9The enemy
will bring its army around the city. That army
will not let people go out to get food, so the
people in the city will begin to starve. They
will become so hungry that they will eat the
bodies of their own sons and daughters, and
then they will begin to eat each other.’
10“Jeremiah, tell this to the people, and
while they are watching, break the jar. 11Then
say this: ‘The Lord All-Powerful says, I will
break the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem,
just as someone breaks a clay jar! And
like a broken jar, the nation of Judah cannot
be put together again. The dead people will be
buried here in Topheth until there is no more
room. 12I will do this to these people and to
this place. I will make this city like Topheth.’
This message is from the Lord. 13‘The houses
in Jerusalem will become as “dirty” as this
place, Topheth. The kings’ palaces will be
ruined like this place, Topheth, because the
people worshiped false gods on the roofs of
their houses. a JEREMIAH 19:3
They worshiped the stars and
burned sacrifices to honor them. They gave
drink offerings to false gods.’”
a 19:13 roofs of their houses People built their
houses with flat roofs that were used as an extra
room.
618
14Then Jeremiah left Topheth where
the Lord had told him to speak. Jeremiah
went to the Lord’s Temple* and stood in
the courtyard* of the Temple. Jeremiah said
to all the people: 15“This is what the Lord
All- Powerful, the God of Israel says: ‘I said I
would bring many disasters to Jerusalem and
the villages around it. I will soon make this
happen because the people are very stubborn.
They refuse to listen and obey me.’”
Jeremiah and Pashhur
20 1Pashhur son of Immer was a priest.
He was the highest officer in the Temple*
of the Lord. When he heard Jeremiah
say those things in the Temple yard, 2he had
Jeremiah the prophet* beaten. And he had
Jeremiah’s hands and feet locked between
large blocks of wood. This was at the Upper
Gate of Benjamin of the Temple. 3The next
day Pashhur took Jeremiah out from between
the blocks of wood. Then Jeremiah said to
him, “The Lord’s name for you is not Pashhur.
Now his name for you is, ‘Surrounded by
Terror.’ 4That is your name because of what
the Lord says: ‘I will soon make you a terror
to yourself and to all your friends. You
will watch enemies killing your friends with
swords. I will give all the people of Judah* to
the king of Babylon. He will take them away
to the country of Babylon, and his army will
kill the people of Judah with their swords.
5The people of Jerusalem worked hard to
build things and become wealthy, but I will
give all these things to their enemies. The
king in Jerusalem has many treasures, but I
will give all the treasures to the enemy. The
enemy will take them and carry them away to
the country of Babylon. 6And, Pashhur, you
and all the people living in your house will
be taken away. You will be forced to go and
live in the country of Babylon. You will die
in Babylon, and you will be buried in that
foreign country. You told lies to your friends.
You said these things would not happen. But
all your friends will also die and be buried in
Babylon.’”
Jeremiah’s Fifth Complaint
7 Lord, you tricked me, and I certainly was
fooled.
You are stronger than I am, so you won.
I have become a joke.
People laugh at me and make fun of me
all day long.
8 Every time I speak, I shout.
I am always shouting about violence and
destruction.
I tell the people about the message that
I received from the Lord.
But they only insult me
and make fun of me.
9 Sometimes I say to myself,
“ I will forget about him.
I will not speak anymore in his name.”