1The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people. Also tell some of the priests to go with you. 2Go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom. Stand near the entrance of the gate where broken pieces of pottery are thrown away. There announce the message I give you. 3Tell the people, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Listen! I am going to bring trouble on Jerusalem. It will be so horrible that it will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring. 4My people have deserted me. They have made this city a place where other gods are worshiped. They have burned incense to them here. They, their people of long ago and the kings of Judah had never known these gods. My people have also filled this place with the blood of those who aren’t guilty. 5They have built the high places where they worship Baal. There they sacrifice their children in the fire as offerings to Baal. That is something I did not command or talk about. It did not even enter my mind. 6So watch out!” announces the Lord. “The days are coming when people will not call this place Topheth anymore. And they will not call it the Valley of Ben Hinnom either. Instead, they will call it the Valley of Death.
7“ ‘ “In this place I will make the plans of Judah and Jerusalem as useless as a broken jar. I will use their enemies to kill my people by swords. They will die at the hands of those who want to take their lives. I will give their dead bodies as food to the birds and the wild animals. 8I will completely destroy this city. I will make it a horrible thing. People will make fun of it. All those who pass by it will be shocked. They will laugh at its people because of all their wounds. 9I will make the people of this city eat their sons and daughters. And they will eat one another. They will do this because things will be so bad during the attack. The enemies who want to take their lives will bring all this trouble on them.” ’
10“Jeremiah, break the jar while those who go with you are watching. 11Tell them, ‘Here is what the Lord who rules over all says. “This potter’s jar is smashed and can’t be repaired. And I will smash this nation and this city. People will bury their dead in Topheth. But they will run out of room. 12Here is what I will do to Jerusalem and those who live here,” ’ announces the Lord. ‘ “I will make this city like Topheth. 13The houses in Jerusalem will be made ‘unclean’ like Topheth. So will the houses of the kings of Judah. All these people burned incense on their roofs to all the stars. They poured out drink offerings to other gods.” ’ ”
14Then Jeremiah returned from Topheth. That’s where the Lord had sent him to prophesy. Jeremiah stood in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. He spoke to all the people. He said, 15“The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Listen! I am going to punish this city and all the villages around it. I am going to bring against them all the trouble I have announced. That’s because my people were stubborn. They would not listen to what I said.’ ”
瓦瓶的比喻
1耶和華對我說： 2「你去向陶匠買一個瓦瓶，帶著百姓和祭司中的一些首領到哈珥西19·2 「哈珥西」意思是「碎陶片」。城門旁的欣嫩子谷，在那裡宣告我的話。 3你要說，『猶大王和耶路撒冷的居民啊，你們要聽耶和華的話！以色列的上帝——萬軍之耶和華說，看啊，我要在這裡降下災禍，聽見這消息的人都必耳鳴。 4因為他們背棄了我，玷污了這地方。他們向自己、自己的祖先及猶大君王都不認識的神明燒香，使這地方流滿了無辜人的血。 5他們為巴力建邱壇，燒死自己的兒子作燔祭獻給巴力。我從未吩咐他們這樣做，連提都沒提過，連想都沒想過。 6因此，看啊，時候將到，這地方不再叫陀斐特或欣嫩子谷，要叫殺戮谷。這是耶和華說的。 7我要在這地方挫敗猶大人和耶路撒冷居民的計謀，使他們喪身在敵人刀下，死在仇敵手中，屍體成為飛鳥和野獸的食物。 8我必摧毀這城，使它令人驚懼、嗤笑，它的滿目瘡痍必令路人驚懼、嗤笑。 9我必使他們在敵人的圍困之下陷入絕境，吃兒女和親友的肉。』
10「耶利米啊，你要在同去的人面前打碎瓦瓶， 11然後告訴他們萬軍之耶和華說，『我要把這百姓和這城打得粉碎，正如人打碎瓦瓶一樣，再也不能修復。人們要在陀斐特埋死人，直到無處可埋。 12我必這樣懲罰這城和其中的居民，使這城像陀斐特一樣。這是耶和華說的。 13耶路撒冷的房屋和猶大君王的宮殿將被玷污，像陀斐特一樣，因為他們在房頂向天上的萬象燒香，向別的神明奠酒。』」
14耶利米奉耶和華之命到陀斐特說預言回來後，站在耶和華殿的院子中對百姓說： 15「以色列的上帝——萬軍之耶和華說，『看啊，我要把我說過的災禍降在這城及其周圍的村莊，因為他們頑固不化，不肯聽我的話。』」
