Study Desk

Thus says the Lord , "Go and buy a ^(a)potter's earthenware ^(b)jar, and take some of the ^(c)elders of the people and some of the ^[a](d)senior priests.

Then go out to the ^(e)valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the potsherd gate, and ^(f)proclaim there the words that I tell you,

and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord , O ^(g)kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, "Behold I am about to bring a ^(h)calamity upon this place, at which the ⁽ⁱ⁾ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle.

Because they have ^(j)forsaken Me and have ^(k)made this an alien place and have burned ^[b]sacrifices in it to ^(l)other gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the ^(m)blood of the innocent

and have built the ⁽ⁿ⁾high places of Baal to burn their ^(o)sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My ^[c]mind;

therefore, behold, ^(p)days are coming," declares the Lord , "when this place will no longer be called ^(q)Topheth or ^(r)the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter.

I will ^(s)make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and ^(t)I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I will give over their ^(u)carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.

I will also make this city a ^(v)desolation and an object of hissing; ^(w)everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its ^[d]disasters.

I will make them ^(x)eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life will distress them."'

"Then you are to break the ^(y)jar in the sight of the men who accompany you

and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, "Just so will I ^(z)break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter's vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will ^(aa)bury in Topheth ^[e]because there is no other place for burial.

This is how I will treat this place and its inhabitants," declares the Lord , "so as to make this city like Topheth.

The ^(ab)houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be ^(ac)defiled like the place Topheth, because of all the ^(ad)houses on whose rooftops they burned ^[f]sacrifices to ^(ae)all the heavenly host and ^(af)poured out drink offerings to other gods."'"

Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the ^(ag)court of the Lord's house and said to all the people:

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have declared against it, because they have ^(ah)stiffened their necks so ^(ai)as not to heed My words.'"

When Pashhur the priest, the son of ^(a)Immer, who was ^(b)chief officer in the house of the Lord , heard Jeremiah prophesying these things,

Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet ^(c)beaten and put him in the ^(d)stocks that were at the upper ^(e)Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of the Lord .

On the next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, "Pashhur is not the name the Lord has ^(f)called you, but rather ^[a](g)Magor-missabib.

For thus says the Lord , ‘Behold, I am going to make you a ^(h)terror to yourself and to all your friends; and while ⁽ⁱ⁾your eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies. So I will ^(j)give over all Judah to the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them away as ^(k)exiles to Babylon and will slay them with the sword.

I will also give over all the ^(l)wealth of this city, all its produce and all its costly things; even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give over to the ^(m)hand of their enemies, and they will plunder them, take them away and bring them to Babylon.

And you, ⁽ⁿ⁾Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; and you will enter Babylon, and there you will die and there you will be buried, you and all your ^(o)friends to whom you have ^(p)falsely prophesied.'"

O Lord , You have deceived me and I was deceived; You have ^(q)overcome me and prevailed. I have become a ^(r)laughingstock all day long; Everyone ^(s)mocks me.

For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I ^(t)proclaim violence and destruction, Because for me the ^(u)word of the Lord has ^[b]resulted In reproach and derision all day long.

But if I say, "I will not ^(v)remember Him Or speak anymore in His name," Then in ^(w)my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And ^(x)I cannot endure it.

For ^(y)I have heard the whispering of many, "^(z)Terror on every side! ^(aa)Denounce him; yes, let us denounce him!" ^[c]All my ^(ab)trusted friends, Watching for my fall, say: "Perhaps he will be ^[d]deceived, so that we may ^(ac)prevail against him And take our revenge on him."

But the ^(ad) Lord is with me like a dread champion; Therefore my ^(ae)persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will be utterly ashamed, because they have ^[e]failed, With an ^(af)everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.

Yet, O Lord of hosts, You who ^(ag)test the righteous, Who see the ^[f]mind and the heart; Let me ^(ah)see Your vengeance on them; For ^(ai)to You I have set forth my cause.

^(aj)Sing to the Lord , praise the Lord ! For He has ^(ak)delivered the soul of the needy one From the hand of evildoers.

Cursed be the ^(al)day when I was born; Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me!

Cursed be the man who brought the news To my father, saying, "A ^[g](am)baby boy has been born to you!" And made him very happy.

But let that man be like the cities Which the Lord ^(an)overthrew without ^[h]relenting, And let him hear an ^(ao)outcry in the morning And a ^[i]shout of alarm at noon;

Because he did not ^(ap)kill me ^[j]before birth, So that my mother would have been my grave, And her womb ever pregnant.

Why did I ever come forth from the womb To ^(aq)look on trouble and sorrow, So that my ^(ar)days have been spent in ^(as)shame?