“ While the Jews are watching, take some large stones with you and bury them in clay in the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes.

“你在犹大人眼前要用手拿几块大石头，藏在砌砖的灰泥中，就是在答比匿法老的宫门那里，

“你要在犹大人眼前用手拿几块大石头，藏在答比匿法老的宫门砌砖的石墩上，

“你要在犹大人眼前用手拿几块大石头，藏在答比匿法老的宫门砌砖的石墩上，

“你当着犹大人的面搬几块大石头，埋在答比匿的法老宫门前的砖路下面，

“你要在犹大人眼前亲手拿几块大石头，埋藏在答比匿法老宫殿门前砖窑的灰泥中；

「你在猶大人眼前要用手拿幾塊大石頭，藏在砌磚的灰泥中，就是在答比匿法老的宮門那裏，

「你要在猶大人眼前用手拿幾塊大石頭，藏在答比匿法老的宮門砌磚的石墩上，

「你要在猶大人眼前用手拿幾塊大石頭，藏在答比匿法老的宮門砌磚的石墩上，

「你當著猶大人的面搬幾塊大石頭，埋在答比匿的法老宮門前的磚路下面，

“你要在猶大人眼前親手拿幾塊大石頭，埋藏在答比匿法老宮殿門前磚窰的灰泥中；

『你要當着猶大人眼前親手拿着幾塊大石頭，去埋藏在長方廣場的灰泥中，在答比匿法老宮殿的門口那裏，

手取巨石、藏於答比匿法老宮門前鋪磚地之泥中、使猶大人目睹、

在答比匿邑、法老宮前、有陶瓦之所、爾以大石藏之於土、使猶大人目睹、

爾取大石、藏於灰泥中、於磚窰間、於磚窰間或作於鋪磚處在答比匿法老之宮門前、使猶大人目睹、

“ Make sure the Jews are watching you. Then get some large stones. Go to the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes. Bury the stones in the clay under the brick walkway there.

“ Take in your hands large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement that is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah,

“ While the people of Judah are watching, take some large rocks and bury them under the pavement stones at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace here in Tahpanhes.

“ Pick up some large stones and set them in the mortar of the brick pavement that is at the opening of Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes. Do this in the sight of the Judean men

“ Take some large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick terrace which is at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of some of the Jews;

“ Take large stones in your hand, and hide them in the sight of the men of Judah, in the clay in the brick courtyard which is at the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes;

Take great stones in thy hand, and hide them in mortar in the brickwork, which is at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;

“ Pick up some large stones and set them in the mortar of the brick pavement that is at the opening of Pharaoh’s palace at Tahpanhes. Do this in the sight of the Judean men

Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which[ is] at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;

“ Take some large stones and bury them in the mortar of the clay pavement at the entrance of Pharaoh’s residence here in Tahpanhes. Do it while the people of Judah present there are watching.

“ Take great stones in your hand, and hide them in mortar in the brick work, which is at the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;

“ Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.”So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel.But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.Then the word of the Lord came to me.He said,“ Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord.“ Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed,and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted,and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.“ Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem,‘ This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’But they will reply,‘ It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’”

This is what the Lord says:“ Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priestsand go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you,and say,‘ Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned incense in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal— something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.“‘ In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds and the wild animals.I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds.I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’“ Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching,and say to them,‘ This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth.The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth— all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people,“ This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:‘ Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff- necked and would not listen to my words.’”

This is what the Lord said to me:“ Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.”So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:“ Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.”So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.Many days later the Lord said to me,“ Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.”So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.Then the word of the Lord came to me:“ This is what the Lord says:‘ In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt— completely useless!For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord,‘ to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.’

I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them.”

About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country,and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.Then he said to Jeroboam,“ Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:‘ See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes.

Draw water for the siege, strengthen your defenses! Work the clay, tread the mortar, repair the brickwork!

In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it—at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah son of Amoz. He said to him,“ Take off the sackcloth from your body and the sandals from your feet.” And he did so, going around stripped and barefoot.Then the Lord said,“ Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush,so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared— to Egypt’s shame.

“ Now, son of man, take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it.Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it.Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the people of Israel.“ Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side.I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel.“ After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the people of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year.Turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her.I will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have finished the days of your siege.“ Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during the 390 days you lie on your side.Weigh out twenty shekels of food to eat each day and eat it at set times.Also measure out a sixth of a hin of water and drink it at set times.Eat the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel.”The Lord said,“ In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.”Then I said,“ Not so, Sovereign Lord! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.”“ Very well,” he said,“ I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.”He then said to me:“ Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,for food and water will be scarce. They will be appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of their sin.“ Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair.When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. For I will pursue them with drawn sword.But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment.Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.“ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.“ Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even conformed to the standards of the nations around you.“ Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you.A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword.“ Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal.“ I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.You will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke. I the Lord have spoken.When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food.I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the Lord have spoken.”

When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.Then say,‘ So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people will fall.’” The words of Jeremiah end here.

Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said:“ With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.

They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.

and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

“ Therefore, son of man, pack your belongings for exile and in the daytime, as they watch, set out and go from where you are to another place. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious people.During the daytime, while they watch, bring out your belongings packed for exile. Then in the evening, while they are watching, go out like those who go into exile.While they watch, dig through the wall and take your belongings out through it.Put them on your shoulder as they are watching and carry them out at dusk. Cover your face so that you cannot see the land, for I have made you a sign to the Israelites.”So I did as I was commanded. During the day I brought out my things packed for exile. Then in the evening I dug through the wall with my hands. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulders while they watched.In the morning the word of the Lord came to me:“ Son of man, did not the Israelites, that rebellious people, ask you,‘ What are you doing?’“ Say to them,‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This prophecy concerns the prince in Jerusalem and all the Israelites who are there.’Say to them,‘ I am a sign to you.’“ As I have done, so it will be done to them. They will go into exile as captives.“ The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder at dusk and leave, and a hole will be dug in the wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land.I will spread my net for him, and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylonia, the land of the Chaldeans, but he will not see it, and there he will die.I will scatter to the winds all those around him— his staff and all his troops— and I will pursue them with drawn sword.“ They will know that I am the Lord, when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries.But I will spare a few of them from the sword, famine and plague, so that in the nations where they go they may acknowledge all their detestable practices. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”

Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said,“ The Holy Spirit says,‘ In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”