Jeremiah 19:2

19:2 Go out to the part of the Hinnom Valley which is near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. ¹  Announce there what I tell you. ² 

Jeremiah 50:25

50:25 I have opened up the place where my weapons are stored. ³ 

I have brought out the weapons for carrying out my wrath. ⁴ 

For I, the Lord God who rules over all, ⁵ 

have work to carry out in the land of Babylonia. ⁶ 

¹ sn The exact location of the Potsherd Gate is unknown since it is nowhere else mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. It is sometimes identified with the Dung Gate mentioned in Neh 2:13; 3:13-14; 12:31 on the basis of the Jerusalem Targum. It is probably called “Potsherd Gate” because that is where the potter threw out the broken pieces of pottery which were no longer of use to him. The Valley of Ben Hinnom has already been mentioned in 7:31-32 in connection with the illicit religious practices, including child sacrifice, which took place there. The Valley of Ben Hinnom (or sometimes Valley of Hinnom) runs along the west and south sides of Jerusalem.

² tn Heb “the words that I will speak to you.”

³ tn Or “I have opened up my armory.”

⁴ tn Heb “The Lord has opened up his armory and has brought out the weapons of his wrath.” The problem of the Lord referring to himself in the third person (or of the prophet speaking on his behalf) is again raised here and is again resolved by using the first person throughout. The construction “weapons of my wrath” would not convey any meaning to many readers so the significance has been spelled out in the translation.

⁵ tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” For an explanation of this rendering and the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.

⁶ tn The words “of Babylonia” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They have been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.