Jeremiah 18
18
The People of Israel Are Like Clay for a Potter
1The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. He said, 2“Go to the potter’s house. There I will give you my message.”
3I went to the potter’s house, and he was working there at his wheel. 4Whenever a clay pot he was working on was ruined, he would rework it into a new clay pot the way he wanted to make it.
5The Lord spoke his word to me. The Lord asked, 6“Nation of Israel, can’t I do with you as this potter does with clay? Nation of Israel, you are like the clay in the potter’s hands.
7“At one time I may threaten to tear up, break down, and destroy a nation or a kingdom. 8But suppose the nation that I threatened turns away from doing wrong. Then I will change my plans about the disaster I planned to do to it.
9“At another time I may promise to build and plant a nation or a kingdom. 10But suppose that nation does what I consider evil and doesn’t obey me. Then I will change my plans about the good that I promised to do to it.
11“Now say to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: I’m going to prepare a disaster and make plans against you. Turn from your evil ways, change your lives, and do good.’
12“But they will answer, ‘It’s useless! We’ll live the way we want to. We’ll go our own stubborn, evil ways.’
13“This is what the Lord says:
Ask among the nations if anyone has ever heard anything like this.
The people of Israel have done a very horrible thing.
14The rocky slopes of Lebanon are never without snow.
The cool mountain streams never dry up.
15But my people have forgotten me.
They burn incense as an offering to worthless idols,
and they stumble along the way, on the ancient path.
They go on side roads and not on major highways.
16Their land will become desolate
and something to be hissed at forever.
Everyone who will pass by it will be stunned and shake his head.
17Like the east wind I will scatter them in front of the enemy.
On the day of their disaster,
I will show them my back, not my face.”
18Then they said, “Let’s plot against Jeremiah, because the teachings of the priests, the advice of wise people, and the word of the prophets won’t disappear. Accuse him! Pay no attention to anything he says.”
19Pay attention to me, O Lord,
and listen to what my accusers say.
20Good should not be paid back with evil.
They dig a pit to take my life.
Remember how I stood in your presence and pleaded for them
in order to turn your anger away from them.
21Now, hand their children over to famine.
Pour out their ⌞blood⌟ by using your sword.
Then their wives will become childless widows.
Their husbands will be put to death.
Their young men will be struck down in battle.
22Make them cry out from their homes
when you suddenly send troops against them,
because they dug a pit to catch me and hid snares for my feet.
23But you, O Lord, know that they plan to kill me.
Don’t forgive their crimes.
Don’t wipe their sins out of your sight.
Make them stumble in your presence.
Deal with them when you get angry.
Currently Selected:
Jeremiah 18: GW
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.