Jeremiah 19 12

Jeremiah 19:12 kjv

Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet:

Jeremiah 19:12 nkjv

Thus I will do to this place," says the LORD, "and to its inhabitants, and make this city like Tophet.

Jeremiah 19:12 niv

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.

Jeremiah 19:12 esv

Thus will I do to this place, declares the LORD, and to its inhabitants, making this city like Topheth.

Jeremiah 19:12 nlt

This is what I will do to this place and its people, says the LORD. I will cause this city to become defiled like Topheth.

Jeremiah 19 verses

Jeremiah 19 12 Meaning

This verse describes a judgment that will come upon Jerusalem. God declares that He will make this city like Topheth, a place associated with defilement and sacrifice to false gods, particularly Molech. The consequence for their sins is destruction and desolation, rendering it unfit for habitation and a place of horror.

Jeremiah 19 12 Context

Jeremiah chapter 19 vividly depicts God's judgment against Judah and Jerusalem for their persistent idolatry and injustice. The prophet is commanded to go to the Valley of Hinnom (Topheth) and there deliver a prophecy of doom. This specific location was historically associated with the abhorrent practice of child sacrifice to the god Molech, a sin that deeply offended God. Jerusalem, the holy city, had become spiritually defiled by these abominations, leading God to declare its destruction as a place of terror. The context is one of covenant unfaithfulness and the inevitable consequences that follow when a people turn away from the Lord and embrace pagan practices, particularly those that violate the sanctity of life.

Jeremiah 19 12 Word Analysis

• וְהָיְתָה (vehāy'tāh): "and it shall be" or "and it will become." This future tense indicates a consequence of the current disobedience.
• תּוֹפֶת (Tōp̄eṯ): "Topheth." A proper noun referring to a specific place in the Valley of Hinnom, known for child sacrifice. The name itself is linked to ideas of burning or spitting, highlighting the fiery horror of the sacrifices performed there.
• לְבֵית־שְׂפַת (levēt-śəp̄āṯ): "like a house of spitting" or "like a place of gaping." This phrase carries the implication of a place of horror, terror, or possibly a place where a body might be contemptuously cast aside, a consequence of shame and ruin. The idea could be a place so foul it makes one recoil or spit.
• אֲשֶׁר־לֹא־יָבֹא (ašer-lō-yāvōʾ): "which shall not come." Signifies an absolute prohibition and exclusion.
• בְּתוֹךְ (betōḵ): "within" or "inside." Denotes entry into this place.
• בּוֹ (bō): "in it" or "there." Refers back to the transformed Topheth.
• כִּי־אִם־מִשְׂרָפָה (kī-ʾim-śərāp̄āh): "but for burning" or "except for burning." This emphasizes the utter desolation and destruction by fire that awaits the city.
• לְקִבְרֹת (ləqiḇrōṯ): "for graves" or "for burying places." Suggests that the city will be a place of death and interment, but a place where people would be compelled to go to bury their dead, not for habitation.
• חֹפְשִׁים (ḥōp̄əšīm): This word is less common. Possible meanings include "free," "open spaces," or, in the context of graves, perhaps referring to unassigned or common burial places where the destitute were buried without proper rites. Some interpret it in connection with “lofty places” or places of public assembly now become desolate graves. Another consideration is a textual variant or interpretation linking to a root of "liberation" or "escape," which ironically, will not be found.
• אֶל־קִרְיָה (ʾel-qiryāh): "to the city." Refers specifically to Jerusalem.
• חַסְדָּה (ḥasdāh): "benevolence" or "mercy." This suggests that no more will the city be a place of God's favor or human compassion, highlighting its future state of utter abandonment and lack of grace. The term can also imply covenant faithfulness, which Jerusalem had forsaken.

Jeremiah 19 12 Bonus Section

The choice of Topheth as a parallel is significant. It was a place that, in earlier times, Josiah had worked to defile precisely to end the illicit practices associated with it (2 Kings 23:10). By prophesying that Jerusalem itself will become like Topheth, God signifies that His judgment will surpass even that initial cleansing; the city will become the epitome of that former abomination in its finality of destruction. The mention of "gratuitous graves" or "open burial places" suggests a level of chaos and lack of respect for the dead that will characterize Jerusalem’s fall. This is a powerful statement on the loss of dignity and the complete reversal of what the city once represented – the dwelling place of God's presence.

Jeremiah 19 12 Commentary

Jeremiah 19:12 is a dire prophecy foretelling Jerusalem's transformation into a place of ultimate devastation, paralleled to Topheth, the valley of burning and child sacrifice. The sin of Molech worship, especially the sacrifice of children, brought about God’s ultimate judgment. God declares that Jerusalem will cease to be a place of sanctuary or covenant blessing and will instead become a place of fiery destruction, devoid of any form of relief or compassion. The people will be driven to use the very valley, and the city itself, as mass graves for their dead, signifying complete societal breakdown and divine abandonment. This serves as a powerful warning against idolatry and the rejection of God's statutes, demonstrating that such disobedience leads to complete ruin and desolation, where life's preciousness is utterly lost.