Jeremias (Jeremiah) 18
18
1The word that came from Jeremias to the Lord, saying:
2Arise, and go down to the potter's house: and there thou shalt hear my words.
3And I went down into the potter's house: and: behold, he was doing a work on the wheel.
4And the vessel was broken which he was making with clay with his hands: and turning he made another vessel, as it seemed good in his eyes to make it.
5Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
6Cannot I do with you, as this potterO house of Israel saith the Lord? Behold, as clay is in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
7I will suddenly speak against a nation and against a kingdom to root out and to pull down and to destroy it.
8If that nation against which I have spoken shall repent of their evil, I also will repent of the evil that I have thought to do to them.
9And I will suddenly speak of a nation and of a kingdom, to build up and plant it.
10If it shall do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, I will repent of the good that I have spoken to do unto it.
11Now therefore tell the men of Juda and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Behold, I frame evil against you and devise a device against you. Let every man of you return from his evil way: and make ye your ways and your doings good.
12And they said: We have no hopes, for we will go after our own thoughts and we will do every one according to the perverseness of his evil heart.
13Therefore thus saith the Lord: Ask among the nations: Who hath heard such horrible things as the virgin of Israel hath done to excess?
14Shall now the snow of Libanus fail from the rock of the field? Or can the cold waters that gush out and run down be taken away?
15Because my people have forgotten me, sacrificing in vain, and stumbling in their ways, in ancient paths, to walk by them in a way not trodden:
16That their land might be given up to desolation and to a perpetual hissing. Every one that shall pass by it shall be astonished and wag his head.
17As a burning wind will I scatter them before the enemy. I will shew them the back and not the face, in the day of their destruction.
18And they said: Come, and let us invent devices against Jeremias, for the law 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 give no heed to all his words.
19Give heed to me, O Lord, and hear the voice of my adversaries.
20Shall evil be rendered for good, because they have digged a pit for my soul? Remember that I have stood in thy sight, to speak good for them and turn away thy indignation from them.
21Therefore, deliver up their children to famine and bring them into the hands of the sword. Let their wives be bereaved of children and widows: and let their husbands be slain by death. Let their young men be stabbed with the sword in battle.
22Let a cry be heard out of their houses: for thou shalt bring the robber upon them suddenly, because they have digged a pit to take me and have hid snares for my feet.
23But thou, O Lord, knowest all their counsel against me unto death. Forgive not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from thy sight. Let them be overthrown before thy eyes: in the time of thy wrath do thou destroy them.
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Jeremias (Jeremiah) 18: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Jeremiah 18
18
The Potter and the Clay
1This is the word the Lord spoke to Jeremiah: 2“Go down to the potter’s house. I will give you my message there.” 3So I went down to the potter’s house. I saw him working at the potter’s wheel. 4He was making a pot from clay. But something went wrong with it. So the potter used that clay to make another pot. He used his hands to shape the pot the way that he wanted it to be.
5Then the Lord spoke his word to me: 6“Family of Israel, can’t I do the same thing with you?” says the Lord. “You are like the clay in the potter’s hands. 7There may come a time when I will speak about a nation or a kingdom. I might say I will pull that nation up by its roots. Or I might say I will pull that nation down and destroy it. 8But if the people of that nation are sorry for the evil they have done, I would change my mind. I would not carry out my plans to bring disaster to them. 9There may come another time when I will speak about a nation. I might say that I will build up and plant that nation. 10But if I see it doing evil by not obeying me, I would change my mind. I would not carry out my plans to do good for them.
11“So, say this to the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem: ‘This is what the Lord says: I am preparing disaster for you right now. I am making plans against you. So stop doing the evil you are doing. Change your ways and do what is right.’ 12But the people of Judah will answer, ‘It won’t do any good to try! We will continue to do what we want. Each of us will do what his stubborn, evil heart wants!’”
13So this is what the Lord says:
“Ask the people in other nations this question:
‘Have you ever heard anything like this?’
The people of Israel have done a horrible thing.
14The snow on the mountains of Lebanon
never melts from the rocks.
Its cool, flowing streams
do not dry up.
15But my people have forgotten me.
They make offerings to worthless idols.
This makes them stumble in what they do.
They stumble about in the old ways of their ancestors.
They walk along back roads
and on poor highways.
16So Judah’s country will become an empty desert.
People will not stop making fun of it.
They will shake their heads as they pass by.
They will be shocked at how the country was destroyed.
17I will scatter them before their enemies
as a strong east wind blows things away.
At that awful time they will not see me coming to help them.
They will see me leaving.”
Jeremiah’s Fourth Complaint
18Then the people said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah. Surely the teaching of the law by the priest will not be lost. And the advice from the wise men will still be with us. We will still have the words of the prophets. So let’s ruin him by telling lies about him! We won’t pay attention to anything he says.”
19Lord, listen to me.
Listen to what my accusers are saying!
20Good should not be paid back with evil.
But they have dug a pit in order to kill me.
Lord, remember that I stood before you
and asked you to do good things for these people.
I asked you to turn your anger away from them.
21So now, let their children starve.
Let their enemies defeat them with swords.
Let their wives lose their children and husbands.
Let the men from Judah be put to death.
Let the young men be killed in battle.
22Let them cry out in their houses.
Bring an enemy against them suddenly.
Let all this happen because my enemies have dug a pit to trap me.
And they have hidden traps for me to step in.
23Lord, you know
about their plans to kill me.
Don’t forgive their crimes.
Don’t erase their sins.
Make them fall from their places.
Punish them while you are angry.
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