14 Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD's house; and said to all the people,
(Verse 14, 15) But Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the court of the house of the Lord and said to all the people: This is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks, refusing to hear my words. After breaking a jar or a small bottle in the presence of the elders of the people in Topheth, which Jeremiah had brought with him, he prophesied the words of the Lord to crush the people and the city of Jerusalem. Then he returned and stood in the court of the house of the Lord and spoke to the whole multitude that had not gone to Topheth, warning them that the Lord would bring upon the city of Jerusalem and all its towns all the evil that he had spoken against it. And lest we should think the sentence cruel, he gives the reasons why he will bring evil upon them. 'Because,' he says, 'they have hardened their neck, that they might not hear my words: nor have they done penance for their many wickednesses, desiring to do penance.'
[AD 420] Jerome on Jeremiah 19:14-15