Jeremiah 18
18
The Potter and the Clay
1The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2“Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.
5Then the Lord gave me this message: 6“O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. 7If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, 8but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. 9And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, 10but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would.
11“Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’”
12But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires.”
13So this is what the Lord says:
“Has anyone ever heard of such a thing,
even among the pagan nations?
My virgin daughter Israel
has done something terrible!
14Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon?
Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry?
15But my people are not so reliable, for they have deserted me;
they burn incense to worthless idols.
They have stumbled off the ancient highways
and walk in muddy paths.
16Therefore, their land will become desolate,
a monument to their stupidity.
All who pass by will be astonished
and will shake their heads in amazement.
17I will scatter my people before their enemies
as the east wind scatters dust.
And in all their trouble I will turn my back on them
and refuse to notice their distress.”
A Plot against Jeremiah
18Then the people said, “Come on, let’s plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread rumors about him and ignore what he says.”
19 Lord, hear me and help me!
Listen to what my enemies are saying.
20Should they repay evil for good?
They have dug a pit to kill me,
though I pleaded for them
and tried to protect them from your anger.
21So let their children starve!
Let them die by the sword!
Let their wives become childless widows.
Let their old men die in a plague,
and let their young men be killed in battle!
22Let screaming be heard from their homes
as warriors come suddenly upon them.
For they have dug a pit for me
and have hidden traps along my path.
23 Lord, you know all about their murderous plots against me.
Don’t forgive their crimes and blot out their sins.
Let them die before you.
Deal with them in your anger.
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Jeremiah 18: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Jeremiah 18
18
Jeremiah goes to the pottery shop
1The LORD told me, 2“Go to the pottery shop, and when you get there, I will tell you what to say to the people.”
3I went there and saw the potter making clay pots on his pottery wheel. 4And whenever the clay would not take the shape he wanted, he would change his mind and form it into some other shape.
5Then the LORD told me to say:
6People of Israel, I, the LORD, have power over you, just as a potter has power over clay. 7If I threaten to uproot and shatter an evil nation 8and that nation turns from its evil, I will change my mind.
9If I promise to make a nation strong, 10but its people start disobeying me and doing evil, then I will change my mind and not help them at all.
11So listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem! I have decided to strike you with disaster, and I won't change my mind unless you stop sinning and start living right.
12But I know you won't listen. You might as well answer, “We don't care what you say. We have made plans to sin, and we are going to be stubborn and do what we want!”
13So I, the LORD, command you to ask the nations, and find out if they have ever heard of such a horrible sin as what you have done.
14The snow
on Lebanon's mountains
never melts away,
and the streams there
never run dry.#18.14 dry: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
15But you, my people,
have turned from me
to burn incense
to worthless idols.
You have left the ancient road
to follow an unknown path
where you stumble over idols.
16Your land will be ruined,
and every passer-by
will look at it with horror
and make insulting remarks.
17When your enemies attack,
I will scatter you like dust
blown by an eastern wind.
Then, on that day of disaster,
I will turn my back on you.
The plot against Jeremiah
18Some of the people said, “Let's get rid of Jeremiah! We will always have priests to teach us God's laws, as well as wise people to give us advice, and prophets to speak the LORD's messages. So, instead of listening to Jeremiah any longer, let's accuse him of a crime.”
Jeremiah prays about his enemies
19Please, LORD, answer my prayer.
Make my enemies stop
accusing me of evil.
20I tried to help them,
but they are paying me back
by digging a pit to trap me.
I even begged you
not to punish them.
21But now I am asking you
to let their children starve
or be killed in war.
Let women lose
their husbands and sons
to disease and violence.
22These people have dug pits
and set traps for me, LORD.
Make them scream in fear
when you send enemy troops
to attack their homes.
23You know they plan to kill me.
So get angry and punish them!
Don't ever forgive
their terrible crimes.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012