Jeremiah Smashes a Clay Jar Before the Elders

God tells Jeremiah to buy a clay jar, take the elders and priests to the Valley of Ben Hinnom — where children had been burned as offerings to Baal — and smash the jar before them: 'This is what the Lord says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter's jar is smashed and cannot be repaired.' The valley will become a place of slaughter. Then Jeremiah goes to the temple and delivers the same message there. The priest Pashhur has him beaten and put in stocks overnight.