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Jeremiah

Warnings about Jerusalem's destruction due to unfaithfulness, with promises of a new covenant.

Chapter 19

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1 Thus 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;

*So, God says to go get a clay jar from a potter and then bring with you some older people leaders and older priest leaders.

2 And 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,

*Go to the valley called the Son of Hinnom, near the east gate's entrance, and announce what I tell you there.

3 And 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.

*And say, Listen to the Lord's message, kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. The Lord, the God of Israel, says, I will bring bad things to this place. When anyone hears it, their ears will feel strange.

4 Because 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;

*Because they left me behind, made this place strange, and worshiped other gods here that nobody knew, not them, their parents, or the rulers of Judah. They also filled this place with the blood of innocent people.

5 They 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:

*They constructed high places for Baal, where they burned their children as sacrifices. This was something I didn't order, didn't mention, or even think about.

6 Therefore, 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.

*So, the Lord says that soon this place won't be called Tophet or The valley of the son of Hinnom anymore; it will be known as The valley of slaughter.

7 And 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.

*I will cancel Judah and Jerusalem's plans here, causing them to be defeated by their enemies with swords. Then, I will give their dead bodies to birds and animals as food.

8 And 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.

*I will turn this city empty and disliked. Anyone who goes by will be shocked and hiss due to all the bad things happening there.

9 And 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.

*I will make them eat their children's meat and their friends' meat during a difficult time when their enemies try to take their lives.

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

*Then you will smash the bottle in front of the people who are with you.

11 And 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.

*And you should tell them, This is what the God of armies says; Just like that, I will destroy this people and this city, as one breaks a broken pot that can't be fixed again. They will bury them in Tophet until there's no more room for burial.

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

*So, I will do this to this place and its people, says the Lord, and turn this city into a place like Tophet.

13 And 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.

*The homes in Jerusalem and the homes of Judah's kings will be very dirty like Tophet's place. This is because on their rooftops, they burned incense for many stars and planets, and also poured drinks as offerings to other gods.

14 Then 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,

*Then, Jeremiah went to Tophet, where God told him to speak prophecies. He stood in the temple's courtyard and spoke to everyone there.

15 Thus 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.

*So says the Lord, the God of Israel, "I will bring upon this city and its towns all the bad things I warned about, because they refused to listen to me."

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* work in progress, there will be mistakes

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