Jeremias 19

ARC · Chapter 19/52

1Assim diz o Senhor: Vae, e compra uma botija de oleiro, e toma comtigo dos anciãos do povo e dos anciãos dos sacerdotes;

2E sae ao valle do filho d'Hinnom, que está á entrada da porta do sol, e apregoa ali as palavras que eu te disser.

3E dize: Ouvi a palavra do Senhor, ó reis de Judah, e moradores de Jerusalem: assim diz o Senhor dos Exercitos, o Deus d'Israel: Eis que trarei um mal sobre este logar, que quem quer que ouvir retinir-lhe-hão as orelhas:

4Porquanto me deixaram e alienaram este lugar, e n'elle queimaram incenso a outros deuses, que nunca conheceram, nem elles nem seus paes, nem os reis de Judah; e encheram este logar de sangue de innocentes.

5Porque edificaram os altos de Baal, para queimarem seus filhos no fogo em holocaustos a Baal; o que nunca lhes ordenei, nem fallei, nem subiu ao meu coração.

6Por isso eis que dias veem, diz o Senhor, em que este logar não se chamará mais Topheth, nem o valle do filho de Hinnom, mas o valle da matança.

7Porque dissiparei o conselho de Judah e de Jerusalem n'este logar, e os farei cair á espada diante de seus inimigos, e pela mão dos que buscam a sua vida d'elles; e darei os seus cadaveres para pasto ás aves dos céus e aos animaes da terra.

8E porei esta cidade em espanto e por assobio: todo aquelle que passar por ella se espantará, e assobiará sobre todas as suas pragas.

9E os farei comer a carne de seus filhos, e a carne de suas filhas, e comerá cada um a carne do seu proximo, no cerco e no aperto em que os apertarão os seus inimigos, e os que buscam a vida d'elles.

10Então quebrarás a botija aos olhos dos homens que forem comtigo.

11E dir-lhes-has: Assim diz o Senhor dos Exercitos: Assim quebrarei eu a este povo, e a esta cidade, como se quebra o vaso do oleiro, que não póde mais refazer-se, e os enterrarão em Topheth, porque não haverá mais logar para os enterrar.

12Assim farei a este logar, diz o Senhor, e aos seus moradores; e isso para pôr a esta cidade como a Topheth.

13E as casas de Jerusalem, e as casas dos reis de Judah, serão immundas como o logar de Topheth: como tambem todas as casas, sobre cujos terraços queimaram incenso a todo o exercito dos céus, e offereceram libações a deuses estranhos.

14Vindo pois Jeremias de Topheth, onde o tinha enviado o Senhor a prophetizar, se poz em pé no atrio da casa do Senhor, e disse a todo o povo:

15Assim diz o Senhor dos Exercitos, o Deus de Israel: Eis que trarei sobre esta cidade, e sobre todas as suas cidades, todo o mal que fallei contra ella, porquanto endureceram a sua cerviz, para não ouvirem as minhas palavras.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jeremiah buys a clay jar and smashes it publicly in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, announcing that God will shatter Jerusalem in the same irreversible way, because of the child sacrifices practiced there.

Explanation

Unlike the vessel in the previous chapter, which could still be reshaped while soft, the already-hardened, fired clay jar cannot be repaired once broken — symbolizing that the point of no return had been reached for Jerusalem. The Valley of Topheth, where the action takes place, was a real site of horror, associated with child sacrifices to Molech, one of the worst religious practices repeatedly condemned in the Bible. The public prophetic act, performed before elders and priests, made the message impossible to ignore — a reminder that certain sins, sustained long enough, create consequences that can no longer be easily undone.

Fun facts

  • Archaeologists identify the Valley of Ben-Hinnom with today's Hinnom Valley, south of the Old City of Jerusalem, where remains associated with ancient Canaanite cults have been found.
  • The contrast between the soft clay (ch. 18, still moldable) and the already-fired, broken vessel (ch. 19, irreversible) is an intentional literary contrast between hope for repentance and final judgment.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jeremias 19:1Jeremiah returns to the same Valley of Hinnom from chapter 7, but now with an enactment: buying a clay jar in front of leaders of the people, to smash it publicly right afterward. It is a visual sign of destruction with no possible repair.
  2. Jeremias 19:2God tells Jeremiah to go out to the Valley of Hinnom, precisely the place where child sacrifices were practiced — the setting of the judgment will match the sin being denounced.
  3. Jeremias 19:3Announces a judgment so shocking it will leave whoever hears it with a ringing in their ears, an expression used elsewhere in the Bible for extremely bad news.
  4. Jeremias 19:4Explains the reason for the judgment: the people defiled the territory with idolatry and with the blood of innocent victims, probably a reference to the child sacrifices in that same valley.
  5. Jeremias 19:5Here child sacrifice is linked to the worship of Baal, though in other biblical texts, like 2 Kings 23:10, the same kind of sacrifice appears linked to Molech. Scholars debate whether these were different names for the same regional god or distinct cults that blended together in this valley.
  6. Jeremias 19:6Repeats the announcement already made in chapter 7: the place of child sacrifice will change its name to “the valley of slaughter,” because it will become the scene of mass destruction.
  7. Jeremias 19:7Announces that Judah’s political and military plans will fail, and the same dishonor of unburied bodies, already mentioned before, will happen again here.
  8. Jeremias 19:8Describes how the destruction of Jerusalem will become so notorious that any traveler passing nearby will react with shock and scorn.
  9. Jeremias 19:9The prophecy that residents would eat the flesh of their own children during the siege sounds extreme, but it is a horror that actually happened in prolonged ancient sieges — Lamentations 4:10 describes it as already having occurred. Total famine dehumanizes before it kills.
  10. Jeremias 19:10After announcing all this, God orders the central physical act of the enactment: publicly smashing a clay jar in front of the witnesses present.
  11. Jeremias 19:11Smashing the clay jar in front of everyone seals the sign. Just as a broken clay vessel cannot be repaired, the announced judgment also could not be undone.
  12. Jeremias 19:12Confirms the meaning of the symbolic act: the whole city will suffer the same fate of destruction associated with the valley of Tophet.
  13. Jeremias 19:13Extends the defilement even into ordinary houses and the royal palaces, where worship of the stars was practiced on the rooftops — idolatry was not confined to public temples.
  14. Jeremias 19:14After the enactment in the valley, Jeremiah returns to the temple and repeats the message publicly, making sure the warning reaches an even wider audience.
  15. Jeremias 19:15Closes the chapter confirming that the announced judgment will be fulfilled completely, because of the people’s constant stubbornness in refusing to listen to the warnings.

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