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
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.