Chapter 19: The Shattered Jug and the Valley of Slaughter

(15 Pesukim)

Overview

Hashem commands Yermiyahu to perform a symbolic act with a clay jug to illustrate the irreversible judgment coming upon Judah. The chapter vividly portrays the consequences of idolatry and child sacrifice, culminating in the breaking of the jug as a sign that Jerusalem will be shattered beyond repair.

1. The Command and the Location (19:1-2)

• Hashem instructs Yermiyahu: Buy a potter’s earthen jug and take elders of the people and priests as witnesses.
• Go to the Valley of Ben-Hinnom near the Potsherd Gate—a place associated with idolatry and child sacrifice. There, Yermiyahu is to proclaim Hashem’s words of judgment.

2. The Reason for Judgment (19:3-5)

• Hashem declares: Disaster is coming that will make ears tingle.
• Why? Because Judah abandoned Hashem, defiled His land, and burned incense to foreign gods.
• They filled the valley with innocent blood and built altars to Baal, even burning their children in fire—something Hashem never commanded or even conceived.

3. The Coming Horror (19:6-9)

Hashem warns:

• This valley will no longer be called Topheth or Ben-Hinnom but the Valley of Slaughter.
• Judah’s plans will fail; its people will fall by the sword before their enemies.
• Food for prey: Corpses will become food for birds and beasts.
• Mockery: The city will become a desolate ruin, a place of mockery. “And I will make this city into a waste and a whistling; everyone who passes by it shall be astonished and screech concerning all her plagues.”
• Cannibalism: In siege conditions, people will resort to cannibalism—eating the flesh of their own children and friends.

4. The Symbolic Act: Breaking the Jug (19:10-13)

Hashem tells Yermiyahu to smash the clay jug in front of the witnesses and declare:

• “So will Hashem break this people and this city—like a potter’s vessel shattered beyond repair.”
• Burial will take place in Topheth because there will be no room elsewhere.
• Jerusalem and its houses, including royal palaces, will become defiled like Topheth, because they burned incense to heavenly bodies and poured libations to false gods.

5. The Final Pronouncement (19:14-15)

After performing the act, Yermiyahu returns to the Temple courtyard and announces: “Hashem is bringing all the calamity I spoke against this city and its towns because they hardened their necks and refused to listen.”