כֹּה אָמַר ה' הָלֹךְ וְקָנִיתָ בַקְבֻּק יוֹצֵר חָרֶשׂ וּמִזִּקְנֵי הָעָם וּמִזִּקְנֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים

Another prophecy is presented, foretelling calamity and involving a symbolic act: So said the Lord: Go, and with you shall go some of the elders of the people, and some of the elders of the priests, and purchase the bottle of a potter.

וְיָצָאתָ אֶל־גֵּיא בֶן־הִנֹּם אֲשֶׁר פֶּתַח שַׁעַר הַחַרְסִית וְקָרָאתָ שָּׁם אֶת־הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר־אֲדַבֵּר אֵלֶיךָ

Go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinom, southwest of the walls of Jerusalem (see commentary on 7:31), that is at, facing, the entrance of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I will speak to you.

וְאָמַרְתָּ שִׁמְעוּ דְבַר־ה' מַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה וְיֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלִָם כֹּה־אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הִנְנִי מֵבִיא רָעָה עַל־הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר כָּל־שֹׁמְעָהּ תִּצַּלְנָה אָזְנָיו

Say: Hear the word of the Lord, kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, so said the Lord of hosts, God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing evil upon this place, that all who hear it, his ears will ring, like one who hears an extremely loud and sudden noise. The dreadful events to come will shock all those who hear of them.

יַעַן אֲשֶׁר עֲזָבֻנִי וַיְנַכְּרוּ אֶת־הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה וַיְקַטְּרוּ־בוֹ לֵאלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יְדָעוּם הֵמָּה וַאֲבוֹתֵיהֶם וּמַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה וּמָלְאוּ אֶת־הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה דַּם נְקִיִּם

I bring this evil because they forsook Me, and made this place alien. They introduced foreign cults to the beautiful Valley of the Son of Hinom, which is located close to the city, and they have thereby made it alien. And they burned incense in it to other gods that they did not know, neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah; and they filled this place with the blood of innocents. This is a reference to the cult of Molekh, in which idol worship and murder occurred side by side.

וּבָנוּ אֶת־בָּמוֹת הַבַּעַל לִשְׂרֹף אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶם בָּאֵשׁ עֹלוֹת לַבָּעַל אֲשֶׁר לֹא־צִוִּיתִי וְלֹא דִבַּרְתִּי וְלֹא עָלְתָה עַל־לִבִּי

In the valley they built the shrines, elevated structures for the worship of the Baal, to burn their sons in the fire, as burnt offerings to the Baal. Although the term Molekh is the god associated in the Bible with the burning of children in fire, perhaps the reference here is not limited to a particular deity, but to a specific ritual involving child sacrifice performed for the Baal or other gods. They have performed a ritual, which I did not command and I did not speak, and it did not enter My mind.

לָכֵן הִנֵּה־יָמִים בָּאִים נְאֻם־ה' וְלֹא־יִקָּרֵא לַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה עוֹד הַתֹּפֶת וְגֵיא בֶן־הִנֹּם כִּי אִם־גֵּיא הַהֲרֵגָה

Therefore, behold, days are coming – the utterance of the Lord – and this place shall no more be called Tofet, and the Valley of the Son of Hinom, but rather the valley of the killing.

וּבַקֹּתִי אֶת־עֲצַת יְהוּדָה וִירוּשָׁלִַם בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה וְהִפַּלְתִּים בַּחֶרֶב לִפְנֵי אֹיְבֵיהֶם וּבְיַד מְבַקְשֵׁי נַפְשָׁם וְנָתַתִּי אֶת־נִבְלָתָם לְמַאֲכָל לְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּלְבֶהֱמַת הָאָרֶץ

I will void [uvakoti], or break, the schemes of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. The word bakoti evokes the bottle [bakbuk] in Jeremiah’s hand. And I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and at the hand of the seekers of their life, and I will give their carcasses as food for the birds of the heavens and for the animals of the earth.

וְשַׂמְתִּי אֶת־הָעִיר הַזֹּאת לְשַׁמָּה וְלִשְׁרֵקָה כֹּל עֹבֵר עָלֶיהָ יִשֹּׁם וְיִשְׁרֹק עַל־כָּל־מַכֹּתֶהָ

I will render this city a desolation and a cause of whistling in astonishment; everyone who passes it will be astonished and will whistle over all its afflictions.

וְהַאֲכַלְתִּים אֶת־בְּשַׂר בְּנֵיהֶם וְאֵת בְּשַׂר בְּנֹתֵיהֶם וְאִישׁ בְּשַׂר־רֵעֵהוּ יֹאכֵלוּ בְּמָצוֹר וּבְמָצוֹק אֲשֶׁר יָצִיקוּ לָהֶם אֹיְבֵיהֶם וּמְבַקְשֵׁי נַפְשָׁם

Instead of their burning their sons and daughters for idol worship, I will feed them the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and each man will eat the flesh of his neighbor, in the siege and in the distress that their enemies and the seekers of their life will distress them.

וְשָׁבַרְתָּ הַבַּקְבֻּק לְעֵינֵי הָאֲנָשִׁים הַהֹלְכִים אוֹתָךְ

You shall break the bottle before the eyes of the men who go with you.

וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵיהֶם כֹּה־אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת כָּכָה אֶשְׁבֹּר אֶת־הָעָם הַזֶּה וְאֶת־הָעִיר הַזֹּאת כַּאֲשֶׁר יִשְׁבֹּר אֶת־כְּלִי הַיּוֹצֵר אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יוּכַל לְהֵרָפֵה עוֹד וּבְתֹפֶת יִקְבְּרוּ מֵאֵין מָקוֹם לִקְבּוֹר

You shall say to them: So said the Lord of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks the potter’s vessel that cannot be repaired anymore, and they will bury the dead in Tofet, for lack of room to bury. The very place that served as a center for foreign cults will become a mass graveyard, thereby rendering the area impure for further worship.

כֵּן־אֶעֱשֶׂה לַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה נְאֻם־ה' וּלְיוֹשְׁבָיו וְלָתֵת אֶת הָעִיר הַזֹּאת כְּתֹפֶת –

So I will do to this place – the utterance of the Lord – and to its inhabitants, and to render this entire city like Tofet.

וְהָיוּ בָּתֵּי יְרוּשָׁלִַם וּבָתֵּי מַלְכֵי יְהוּדָה כִּמְקוֹם הַתֹּפֶת הַטְּמֵאִים לְכֹל הַבָּתִּים אֲשֶׁר קִטְּרוּ עַל־גַּגֹּתֵיהֶם לְכֹל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהַסֵּךְ נְסָכִים לֵאלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים

The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be like the impure place of the pyres of Tofet. So I will do to all the houses where they burned incense or sacrificed on their roofs to all the host of the heavens and poured libations to other gods. Like Tofet, the entire city is destined to become a wasteland of death and destruction.

וַיָּבֹא יִרְמְיָהוּ מֵהַתֹּפֶת אֲשֶׁר שְׁלָחוֹ ה' שָׁם לְהִנָּבֵא וַיַּעֲמֹד בַּחֲצַר בֵּית־ה' וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל־כָּל־הָעָם

Initially, few men agreed to accompany Jeremiah to the Tofet. Jeremiah then came from the Tofet, where the Lord sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the courtyard of the House of the Lord, and he said to all the people standing there:

כֹּה־אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הִנְנִי מֵבִי אֶל־הָעִיר הַזֹּאת וְעַל־כָּל־עָרֶיהָ אֵת כָּל־הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתִּי עָלֶיהָ כִּי הִקְשׁוּ אֶת־עָרְפָּם לְבִלְתִּי שְׁמוֹעַ אֶת־דְּבָרָי

So said the Lord of hosts, God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing to this city, and upon all its adjacent cities, all the evil that I spoke against it; because they, the inhabitants of those cities, stiffened their neck, not heeding My words.