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,19.2 the east…: Heb. the sun gate 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.19.11 be made…: Heb. be healed 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.
Jerusalem skal knuses som en lerkrukke
1Herren sagde derpå til mig: „Gå hen og køb en lerkrukke hos pottemageren. Tag så nogle af folkets politiske og religiøse ledere med dig 2og gå ud i Hinnoms søns dal med krukken, tæt ved Potteskårsporten. Derude skal du overbringe dem følgende budskab:
3Judas kongeslægt og Jerusalems indbyggere, hør Herrens ord! Herren, den Almægtige, Israels Gud, siger: Jeg sender en katastrofe over dette sted, som vil få det til at ringe for ørerne af enhver, der hører om det. 4For Israel har svigtet mig og gjort denne dal til en skamplet ved at brænde røgelse for fremmede guder, som hverken de selv eller deres forfædre kendte til, og Judas konger har på dette sted ofret uskyldige børn. 5De har bygget højaltre for Ba’al og brændt deres egne børn som ofre på disse altre, en afskyelig handling, som jeg aldrig ville drømme om at kræve af dem.
6Der kommer en dag, siger Herren, hvor denne dal ikke længere skal hedde Tofet eller Hinnoms søns dal. I stedet skal den kaldes for ‚Massakrens dal’. 7Jeg modarbejder Judas og Jerusalems krigsstrategi og tillader fjendens hære at overrumple jer og slå jer ihjel. Gribbe og vilde dyr vil æde jeres døde kroppe. 8Jeg jævner Jerusalem med jorden, så enhver, der går forbi, vil gispe af rædsel over byens grufulde skæbne. 9Jeg vil sørge for, at jeres fjender belejrer byen, indtil alle fødevarer er brugt op, og de belejrede begynder at spise deres egne børn og venner.
10Jeremias, når du har givet dem budskabet, skal du knuse krukken for øjnene af de mænd, du har taget med. 11Så skal du sige til dem: Hør, hvad Herren, den Almægtige, siger: Som den her lerkrukke blev knust, så den ikke kan laves igen, vil jeg knuse Judas og Jerusalems indbyggere. Og man vil kaste de døde ud her i Tofetdalen, fordi der ikke er plads nok i gravhulerne. 12-13Det er, hvad jeg vil gøre med dette sted og dets indbyggere. Jerusalem vil blive vanhelliget som Tofet. Død og ødelæggelse vil ramme hvert eneste hus i Jerusalem, ja selv det kongelige palads. Det er straffen for, at I på tagterrasserne brændte røgelse for stjerneguderne og bragte drikofre til alle jeres afguder.”
14Efter at Jeremias havde forkyndt sit budskab, forlod han Tofetdalen og gik hen i forgården til Herrens tempel, hvor han råbte til folket: 15„Hør, hvad Herren, den Almægtige, Israels Gud, siger: Jeg vil snart lade katastrofen ramme Jerusalem og de omliggende byer, sådan som jeg har sagt, fordi I hårdnakket nægter at høre efter, hvad jeg siger.”
