Jeremias 19:10

10 And thou shalt break the bottle in the sight of the men that go forth with thee,

Jeremias 19:10 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 19:10

Then shall thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that
go with thee.
] The earthen bottle he was bid to get of the potter, ( Jeremiah 19:1 ) ; this he is ordered to break in pieces before the eyes of the ancients of and of the priests that went with him out Jerusalem to Tophet, as an emblem of the easy, sure, and utter destruction of Jerusalem; for nothing is more easily broken than an earthen vessel; and so easily was Jerusalem destroyed by the Chaldean army; nor can an earthen pot resist any force that is used against it; nor could the inhabitants of Jerusalem withstand the force of Nebuchadnezzar's army; and an earthen vessel once broken cannot be put together again; a new one must be made; which was the case both of the city and temple; and which, upon the return from the captivity, were not repaired, but rebuilt.

Jeremias 19:10 In-Context

8 And I will bring this city to desolation and a hissing; every one that passes by it shall scowl, and hiss because of all her plague.
9 And they shall eat the flesh of their sons, and the flesh of their daughters; and they shall eat every one the flesh of his neighbour in the blockade, and in the siege wherewith their enemies shall besiege them.
10 And thou shalt break the bottle in the sight of the men that go forth with thee,
11 and thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, Thus will I break in pieces this people, and this city, even as an earthen vessel is broken in pieces which cannot be mended again.
12 Thus will I do, saith the Lord, to this place, and to the inhabitants of it, that this city may be given up, as one that is falling to ruin.

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.