Thursday in Epiphany

1Verse 1. This is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take some of the elders of the people and leaders of the priests, 2Verse 2. and go out to the Valley of Ben-hinnom near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you, 3Verse 3. saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on this place that the ears of all who hear of it will ring, 4Verse 4. because they have abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in this place to other gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have ever known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. 5Verse 5. They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal — something I never commanded or mentioned, nor did it even enter My mind. 6Verse 6. So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7Verse 7. And in this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hands of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. 8Verse 8. I will make this city a desolation and an object of scorn. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff at all her wounds. 9Verse 9. I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and distress inflicted on them by their enemies who seek their lives.’ 10Verse 10. Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the men who accompany you, 11Verse 11. and you are to proclaim to them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I will shatter this nation and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them. 12Verse 12. This is what I will do to this place and to its residents, declares the LORD. I will make this city like Topheth. 13Verse 13. The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth— all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.” 14Verse 14. Then Jeremiah returned from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the courtyard of the house of the LORD and proclaimed to all the people, 15Verse 15. “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and on all the villages around it every disaster I have pronounced against them, because they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words.’”

11Verse 11. And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo — 12Verse 12. cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13Verse 13. of cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; of wine, olive oil, fine flour, and wheat; of cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages; of bodies and souls of slaves. 14Verse 14. And they will say: “The fruit of your soul’s desire has departed from you; all your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be seen again.” 15Verse 15. The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand at a distance, in fear of her torment. They will weep and mourn, 16Verse 16. saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17Verse 17. For in a single hour such fabulous wealth has been destroyed!” Every shipmaster, passenger, and sailor, and all who make their living from the sea, will stand at a distance 18Verse 18. and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim. 19Verse 19. Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been destroyed.” 20Verse 20. Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.