The Prophets · Old Testament

Jeremiah 19

Jeremiah 19: the broken bottle in the valley of the son of Hinnom

General context

The Lord tells Jeremiah to get a potter's earthen bottle, take some of the ancients of the people and of the priests, and go to the valley of the son of Hinnom by the entry of the east gate. He is to tell the kings of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem that the Lord will bring evil on this place so that the ears of any who hear will tingle, because they have forsaken him, burned incense to other gods, filled the place with the blood of innocents, and built the high places of Baal to burn their sons with fire as burnt offerings, which the Lord never commanded or thought of. The place will no longer be called Tophet or the valley of the son of Hinnom but the valley of slaughter. The Lord will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem, cause them to fall by the sword, give their carcases to fowls and beasts, and make the city a desolation and a hissing. In the siege they will eat the flesh of their sons and daughters and of their friends. Jeremiah is then to break the bottle in the sight of the men with him and say that the Lord will break this people and this city as a potter's vessel is broken and cannot be made whole, and they will bury in Tophet until there is no place. The city will be made as Tophet, and the houses of Jerusalem and of the kings of Judah will be defiled because of the roofs where they burned incense to the host of heaven. Jeremiah then comes from Tophet, stands in the court of the Lord's house and tells all the people that the Lord will bring on the city and all her towns all the evil he has pronounced, because they have hardened their necks.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 19:1, Jeremiah 19:2, Jeremiah 19:3, Jeremiah 19:4, Jeremiah 19:5, Jeremiah 19:6, Jeremiah 19:7, Jeremiah 19:8, Jeremiah 19:9, Jeremiah 19:10, Jeremiah 19:11, Jeremiah 19:12, Jeremiah 19:13, Jeremiah 19:14, Jeremiah 19:15

Jeremiah 19 (KJV)

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.

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Historical context

The setting is given as "the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate," and the same place is called Tophet, as in 7:31 and 32; verse 14 says Jeremiah came "from Tophet" to the court of the Lord's house. The witnesses are "the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests," not named or counted. The address is to "kings of Judah" in the plural and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and no king is named. The charge of child sacrifice is stated plainly, "to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal," and the Lord denies commanding it three ways, "I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind." The eating of sons, daughters and friends in verse 9 is foretold as a result of "the siege and straitness" imposed by enemies; the text does not narrate it here. Verses 1 through 13 are the Lord's instructions, so the breaking of the bottle is narrated only as a command, "Then shalt thou break the bottle," and the text does not separately report Jeremiah doing it; verse 14 says he came from Tophet "whither the Lord had sent him to prophesy." The final word in the court is in the third person, "Then came Jeremiah," and adds "all her towns" to the city. The chapter names no date.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 19:1, Jeremiah 19:2, Jeremiah 19:3, Jeremiah 19:4, Jeremiah 19:5, Jeremiah 19:6, Jeremiah 19:9, Jeremiah 19:10, Jeremiah 19:11, Jeremiah 19:13, Jeremiah 19:14, Jeremiah 19:15

Literary context

The chapter pairs with chapter 18: there the clay was soft and could be made again; here the vessel is fired and, once broken, "cannot be made whole again." The sign is delayed until the speech is over, so the words about Tophet come first and the breaking seals them. The renaming of the valley repeats 7:32 almost word for word, and the carcases as meat for fowls and beasts repeats 7:33. The chapter builds its horror by steps: incense to other gods, the blood of innocents, sons burned to Baal, then in the siege the flesh of sons and daughters eaten, so that what the people did to their children becomes what will be done to them. "This place" is repeated through the speech, and Tophet turns from a named site into a measure for the whole city: "make this city as Tophet." The roofs of verse 13 bring the worship of the host of heaven back to the houses of kings and people, recalling the bones spread before sun and moon in 8:2. The chapter ends by moving the prophet from the valley to the court, so that the sign done before a few witnesses becomes a public sentence.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 19:4, Jeremiah 19:5, Jeremiah 19:6, Jeremiah 19:7, Jeremiah 19:9, Jeremiah 19:10, Jeremiah 19:11, Jeremiah 19:12, Jeremiah 19:13, Jeremiah 19:14, Jeremiah 19:15

Key moments

Get a potter's earthen bottle (Jeremiah 19:1). Jeremiah is told to take elders and priests with him to the valley.
Ears shall tingle (Jeremiah 19:3). The Lord announces evil on this place to the kings of Judah and Jerusalem.
Sons burned to Baal (Jeremiah 19:5). The Lord names the child sacrifice he never commanded or thought of.
The valley of slaughter (Jeremiah 19:6). Tophet will be renamed for what will happen there.
Flesh of sons and daughters (Jeremiah 19:9). In the siege the people will eat their own children and friends.
Break the bottle (Jeremiah 19:10). Jeremiah is to break the bottle before the men with him.
From Tophet to the court (Jeremiah 19:14). Jeremiah stands in the court of the Lord's house and repeats the sentence to all the people.

For reflection

The clay of chapter 18 could be made again, and the bottle of chapter 19 cannot be made whole. What does the placing of the two signs side by side suggest about the moment when a chance to turn has passed?