Jeremiah 19

¹The Lord seith these thingis, Go thou, and take an erthene potel of a pottere, of the eldre men of the puple, and of the eldre men of preestis.

²And go thou out to the valei of the sones of Ennon, which is bisidis the entring of the erthene yate; and there thou schalt preche the wordis whiche Y schal speke to thee;

³and thou schalt seie, Kyngis of Juda, and the dwelleris of Jerusalem, here ye the word of the Lord. The Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal bringe in turment on this place, so that ech man that herith it, hise eeris tyngle.

⁴For thei han forsake me, and maad alien this place, and offriden sacrifices to alien goddis ther ynne, whiche thei, and the fadris of hem, and the kingis of Juda, knewen not; and thei filliden this place with the blood of innocentis,

⁵and bildiden hiy thingis to Baalym, to brenne her sones in fier, in to brent sacrifice to Baalym; whiche thingis Y comaundide not, nether spak, nether tho stieden in to myn herte.

⁶Therfor the Lord seith, Lo! daies comen, and this place schal no more be clepid Tophet, and the valei of the sone of Ennon, but the valei of sleyng.

⁷And Y schal distrie the councel of Juda and of Jerusalem in this place, and Y schal distrie hem bi swerd, in the siyt of her enemyes, and in the hond of men sekynge the lyues of hem; and Y schal yyue her deed bodies mete to the briddis of the eir, and to beestis of erthe.

⁸And Y schal sette this citee in to wondring, and in to hissing; ech that passith bi it, schal wondre, and hisse on al the veniaunce therof.

⁹And Y schal feede hem with the fleischis of her sones, and with the fleischis of her douytris; and ech man schal ete the fleischis of his frend in the bisegyng and angwisch, in which the enemyes of hem, and thei that seken the lyues of hem, schulen close hem togidere.

¹⁰And thou schalt al to-breke the potel bifore the iyen of the men, that schulen go with thee.

¹¹And thou schalt seie to hem, The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, So Y schal al to-breke this puple, and this citee, as the vessel of a pottere is al to-brokun, which mai no more be restorid; and thei schulen be biried in Tophet, for noon other place is to birie.

¹²So Y schal do to this place, seith the Lord, and to dwelleris therof, that Y sette this citee as Tophet.

¹³And the housis of Jerusalem, and the housis of the kingis of Juda, schulen be as the place of Tophet; alle the vncleene housis, in whose roouys thei sacrifieden to al the chyualrie of heuene, and offriden moist sacrifices to alien goddis.

¹⁴Forsothe Jeremye cam fro Tophet, whidur the Lord hadde sente hym for to profesie; and he stood in the porche of the hous of the Lord,

¹⁵and seide to al the puple, The Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal bringe in on this citee, and on alle the citees therof, alle the yuelis whiche Y spak ayens it; for thei maden hard her nol, that thei herden not my wordis.

Jeremiah 19

¹Thus saith the Lord, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests;

²And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee,

³And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.

⁴Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;

⁵They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:

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

⁷And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

⁸And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.

⁹And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.

¹⁰Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee,

¹¹And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.

¹²Thus will I do unto this place, saith the Lord, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet:

¹³And 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 incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods.

¹⁴Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lord’s house; and said to all the people,

¹⁵Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.