Jeremiah 7:31-32

7:31 They have also built places of worship ¹  in a place called Topheth ²  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! ³  7:32 So, watch out!” ⁴  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 ⁵  the Valley of Slaughter and they will bury so many people in Topheth they will run out of room. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 38:6

38:6 So the officials ⁷  took Jeremiah and put him in the cistern ⁸  of Malkijah, one of the royal princes, ⁹  that was in the courtyard of the guardhouse. There was no water in the cistern, only mud. So when they lowered Jeremiah into the cistern with ropes he sank in the mud. ¹⁰ 

[7:31]  ¹ tn Heb “high places.”

[7:31]  ² tn Heb “the high places of [or in] Topheth.”

[7:31]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “Therefore, behold!”

[7:32]  ⁵ tn Heb “it will no longer be said ‘Topheth’ or ‘the Valley of Ben Hinnom’ but ‘the valley of slaughter.’

[7:32]  ⁶ tn Heb “And they will bury in Topheth so there is not room.”

[38:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “they.”

[38:6]  ⁸ sn A cistern was a pear-shaped pit with a narrow opening. Cisterns were cut or dug in the limestone rock and lined with plaster to prevent seepage. They were used to collect and store rain water or water carried up from a spring.

[38:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “the son of the king.” See the translator’s note on Jer 36:26 for the rendering here.

[38:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And they let Jeremiah down with ropes and in the cistern there was no water, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.” The clauses have been reordered and restructured to create a more natural and smoother order in English.