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.
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 18: NLT
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT:
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 18
18
1The word which came to Yirmeyahu from יהוה, saying,
2“Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I let you hear My words.”
3So I went down to the potter’s house, and saw him doing a piece of work on the wheel.
4And the vessel that he made of clay was ruined in the hand of the potter, so he remade it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
5Then the word of יהוה came to me, saying,
6“O house of Yisra’ĕl, am I not able to do with you as this potter?” declares יהוה. “Look, as the clay is in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand, O house of Yisra’ĕl!
7“The moment I speak concerning a nation and concerning a reign, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it,
8and that nation shall turn from its evil because I have spoken against it, then I shall repent of the evil that I thought to do to it.
9“And the moment I speak concerning a nation and concerning a reign, to build and to plant it,
10and it shall do evil in My eyes in not obeying My voice, then I shall repent concerning the good with which I spoke of doing to it.
11“And now, speak to the men of Yehuḏah and to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, saying, ‘Thus said יהוה, “See, I am forming evil and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your deeds good.” ’ ”
12But they shall say, “It is no use! For we walk according to our own plans, and we do each one the stubbornness of his evil heart.”#See Jer. 7:24; Jer. 16:12; Jer. 17:9; Jer. 23:17
13Therefore thus said יהוה, “Ask now among the nations, who has heard the like of this? The maiden of Yisra’ĕl has done what is most horrible.
14“Does the snow of Leḇanon cease from the rock of the field? Or the cool flowing waters from afar dry up?
15“But My people have forgotten Me, they have burned incense to what is false, and they have stumbled from their ways, from the ancient paths, to walk in bypaths and not on a highway,
16to make their land become a ruin, a hissing forever – everyone who passes by it is appalled and shakes his head.
17“I shall scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I shall show them the back and not the face in the day of their calamity.”
18Then they said, “Come and let us devise plans against Yirmeyahu, for the Torah shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not listen to any of his words.”
19Attend to me, O יהוה, and listen to the voice of my adversaries!
20Should good be repaid with evil? For they have dug a pit for my life. Remember that I stood before You to speak good for them, and to turn away Your wrath from them.
21So give their children over to scarcity of food, and hand them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives become widows and bereaved of their children. Let their men be killed to death, their young men be stricken by the sword in battle.
22Let a cry be heard from their houses, when You bring a raiding party suddenly upon them. For they have dug a pit to take me, and laid snares for my feet.
23But You, O יהוה, You know all their counsel against me, to slay me. Do not pardon their crookedness, nor blot out their sin from Your presence, and let them be overthrown before You. Deal with them in the time of Your displeasure.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright© 1993 – 2015 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR). All rights reserved.