1 This is what the Lord says: Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders of the priests.
2 Go to the valley of Ben Hinnom at the entrance to Potsherd Gate. Announce there the things I plan to do.
3 Say, “Listen to the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I’m going to bring such a disaster on this place that the ears of everyone who hears about it will ring.
4 “The people, their ancestors, and the kings of Judah have abandoned me. They have made this place unrecognizable by burning incense as an offering to other gods that they hadn’t heard of. They have filled this place with the blood of innocent people.
5 They have built worship sites to burn their children as sacrifices to Baal. I didn’t ask them or command them to do this. It never entered my mind.
6 “That is why the days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben Hinnom. Instead, it will be called Slaughter Valley.
7 I will smash the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will cut them down with swords in front of their enemies and with the hands of those who want to kill them. I will give their bodies as food to birds and to animals.