Jeremiah 18
18
1The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, 2Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3And I went down to the potter's house; and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 4And the vessel that he made was marred, as clay, in the hand of the potter; and he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make. 5And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, 6House of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith Jehovah. Behold, as the clay in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, house of Israel. 7At the moment that I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, 8if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, then I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. 9And at the moment that I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant, 10if it do evil in my sight, that it hearken not unto my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them.
11And now, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I prepare evil against you, and devise a device against you: turn ye then every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings. 12But they say, There is no hope; for we will walk after our own devices, and we will each one do according to the stubbornness of his evil heart. 13Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Ask ye now among the nations, Who hath heard such things? The virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing. 14Shall the snow of Lebanon cease from the rock of the field? Shall the cool flowing waters coming from afar be dried up? 15For my people hath forgotten me: they burn incense to vanity; and they have caused them to stumble in their ways, the ancient paths, to walk in by-paths of a way not cast up; 16to make their land an astonishment, a perpetual hissing: every one that passeth by shall be astonished, and shake his head. 17As with an east wind will I scatter them before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
18And they said, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor word from the prophet. Come and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words. 19Jehovah, give heed to me, and listen to the voice of those that contend with me. 20Shall evil be recompensed for good? For they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them. 21Therefore give up their children to the famine, and deliver them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of children and be widows; and let their men be swept off by death, their young men be smitten by the sword in battle. 22Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them; for they have digged a pit to take me, and have hidden snares for my feet. 23And thou, Jehovah, knowest all their counsel against me to slay me. Forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee: deal with them in the time of thine anger.
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Jeremiah 18: DARBY
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First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Jeremiah 18
18
Jeremiah at the Potter's House
1The LORD said to me, 2“Go down to the potter's house, where I will give you my message.” 3So I went there and saw the potter working at his wheel. 4Whenever a piece of pottery turned out imperfect, he would take the clay and make it into something else.
5Then the LORD said to me, 6“Haven't I the right to do with you people of Israel what the potter did with the clay? You are in my hands just like clay in the potter's hands. 7If at any time I say that I am going to uproot, break down, or destroy any nation or kingdom, 8but then that nation turns from its evil, I will not do what I said I would. 9On the other hand, if I say that I am going to plant or build up any nation or kingdom, 10but then that nation disobeys me and does evil, I will not do what I said I would. 11Now then, tell the people of Judah and of Jerusalem that I am making plans against them and getting ready to punish them. Tell them to stop living sinful lives — to change their ways and the things they are doing. 12They will answer, ‘No, why should we? We will all be just as stubborn and evil as we want to be.’ ”
The People Reject the LORD
13The LORD says,
“Ask every nation if such a thing
has ever happened before.
The people of Israel have done a terrible thing!
14Are Lebanon's rocky heights ever without snow?
Do its cool mountain streams ever run dry?
15Yet my people have forgotten me;
they burn incense to idols.
They have stumbled in the way they should go,
they no longer follow the old ways;
they walk on unmarked paths.
16They have made this land a thing of horror,
to be despised for ever.
All who pass by will be shocked at what they see;
they will shake their heads in amazement.
17I will scatter my people before their enemies,
like dust blown by the east wind.
I will turn my back on them;
I will not help them when the disaster comes.”
A Plot against Jeremiah
18Then the people said, “Let's do something about Jeremiah! There will always be priests to instruct us, the wise to give us counsel, and prophets to proclaim God's message. Let's bring charges against him, and stop listening to what he says.”
19So I prayed, “LORD, hear what I am saying and listen to what my enemies are saying about me. 20Is evil the payment for good? Yet they have dug a pit for me to fall in. Remember how I came to you and spoke on their behalf, so that you would not deal with them in anger. 21But now, LORD, let their children starve to death; let them be killed in war. Let the women lose their husbands and children; let the men die of disease and the young men be killed in battle. 22Send a mob to plunder their homes without warning; make them cry out in terror. They have dug a pit for me to fall in and have set traps to catch me. 23But, LORD, you know all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their evil or pardon their sin. Throw them down in defeat and deal with them while you are angry.”
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.