Isaiah 30:33

30:33 For ¹  the burial place is already prepared; ² 

it has been made deep and wide for the king. ³ 

The firewood is piled high on it. ⁴ 

The Lord’s breath, like a stream flowing with brimstone,

will ignite it.

Jeremiah 7:31-32

7:31 They have also built places of worship ⁵  in a place called Topheth ⁶  in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that they can sacrifice their sons and daughters by fire. That is something I never commanded them to do! Indeed, it never even entered my mind to command such a thing! ⁷  7:32 So, watch out!” ⁸  says the Lord. “The time will soon come when people will no longer call those places Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom. But they will call that valley ⁹  the Valley of Slaughter and they will bury so many people in Topheth they will run out of room. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 19:6

19:6 So I, the Lord, say: ¹¹  “The time will soon come that people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Hinnom Valley. But they will call this valley ¹²  the Valley of Slaughter!

Jeremiah 19:11-13

19:11 Tell them the Lord who rules over all says, ¹³  ‘I will do just as Jeremiah has done. ¹⁴  I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter’s vessel which is broken beyond repair. ¹⁵  The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.’ ¹⁶  19:12 I, the Lord, say: ¹⁷  ‘That is how I will deal with this city and its citizens. I will make it like Topheth. 19:13 The houses in Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled by dead bodies ¹⁸  just like this place, Topheth. For they offered sacrifice to the stars ¹⁹  and poured out drink offerings to other gods on the roofs of those houses.’”

[30:33]  ¹ tn Or “indeed.”

[30:33]  ² tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for arranged from before [or “yesterday”] is [?].” The meaning of תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh), which occurs only here, is unknown. The translation above (as with most English versions) assumes an emendation to תֹּפֶת (tofet, “Topheth”; cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) and places the final hey (ה) on the beginning of the next word as an interrogative particle. Topheth was a place near Jerusalem used as a burial ground (see Jer 7:32; 19:11).

[30:33]  ³ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Also it is made ready for the king, one makes it deep and wide.” If one takes the final hey (ה) on תָּפְתֶּה (tafÿteh) and prefixes it to גָּם (gam) as an interrogative particle (see the preceding note), one can translate, “Is it also made ready for the king?” In this case the question is rhetorical and expects an emphatic affirmative answer, “Of course it is!”

[30:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “its pile of wood, fire and wood one makes abundant.”

[7:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “high places.”

[7:31]  ⁶ tn Heb “the high places of [or in] Topheth.”

[7:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “It never entered my heart.” The words “to command such a thing” do not appear in the Hebrew but are added for the sake of clarity.

[7:32]  ⁸ tn Heb “Therefore, behold!”

[7:32]  ⁹ tn Heb “it will no longer be said ‘Topheth’ or ‘the Valley of Ben Hinnom’ but ‘the valley of slaughter.’

[7:32]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And they will bury in Topheth so there is not room.”

[19:6]  ¹¹ tn This phrase (Heb “Oracle of the Lord”) has been handled this way on several occasions when it occurs within first person addresses where the Lord is the speaker. See, e.g., 16:16; 17:24; 18:6.

[19:6]  ¹² tn Heb “it will no longer be called to this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom but the Valley of Slaughter.”

[19:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “Thus says Yahweh of armies.” For this title see the study note on 2:19. The translation attempts to avoid the confusion of embedding quotes within quotes by reducing this one to an indirect quote.

[19:11]  ¹⁴ tn The adverb “Thus” or “Like this” normally points back to something previously mentioned. See, e.g., Exod 29:35; Num 11:15; 15:11; Deut 25:9.

[19:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Like this I will break this people and this city, just as one breaks the vessel of a potter which is not able to be repaired.”

[19:11]  ¹⁶ sn See Jer 7:22-23 for parallels.

[19:12]  ¹⁷ tn This phrase (Heb “Oracle of the Lord”) has been handled this way on several occasions when it occurs within first person addresses where the Lord is the speaker. See, e.g., 16:16; 17:24; 18:6.

[19:13]  ¹⁸ tn The words “by dead bodies” is not in the text but is implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the host of heaven.”