Jeremiah 18
New American Standard Bible
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Arise and (A)go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. 4 But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 6 “Am I not able, house of Israel, to deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the (B)clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel. 7 At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (C)uproot it, to tear it down, or to destroy it; 8 (D)if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will (E)relent of the disaster that I planned to bring on it. 9 Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (F)build up or to plant it; 10 if it does (G)evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will (H)relent of the good with which I said [a]that I would bless it. 11 So now, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am (I)forming a disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Now (J)turn back, each of you from his evil way, and [b]correct your ways and your deeds!”’ 12 But (K)they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will [c]persist in the (L)stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
‘(M)Just ask among the nations,
Who ever heard anything like [d]this?
The (N)virgin of Israel
Has done a most (O)appalling thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave the rock of the open country alone?
Or is the cold flowing water from a foreign land ever dried up?
15 For (P)My people have forgotten Me,
(Q)They burn incense [e]to worthless gods.
And they [f]have stumbled in their ways,
In the (R)ancient roads,
To walk on paths,
Not on a (S)highway,
16 To make their land a (T)desolation,
An object of perpetual (U)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And (V)shake his head.
17 Like an (W)east wind I will (X)scatter them
Before the enemy;
I will [g]show them (Y)My back and not My face
(Z)In the day of their disaster.’”
18 Then they said, “Come and let’s (AA)devise plans against Jeremiah. Certainly the (AB)Law is not going to be lost by the priest, nor (AC)advice by the wise, nor the divine (AD)word by the prophet! Come, and let’s (AE)strike at him with our tongue, and let’s (AF)pay no attention to any of his words.”
19 Give Your attention to me, Lord,
And listen to [h]what my opponents are saying!
20 (AG)Should good be repaid with evil?
For they have (AH)dug a pit for [i]me.
Remember how I (AI)stood before You
To speak good in their behalf,
So as to turn Your wrath away from them.
21 Therefore, (AJ)give their children over to famine
And turn them over to the [j]power of the sword;
And let their wives become (AK)childless and (AL)widowed.
Let their men also be slaughtered to death,
Their (AM)young men struck and killed by the sword in battle.
22 May a (AN)cry be heard from their houses
When You suddenly bring raiders upon them;
(AO)For they have dug a pit to capture me
And (AP)hidden snares for my feet.
23 But You, Lord, know
All their [k]deadly schemes against me;
(AQ)Do not [l]forgive their wrongdoing
Or wipe out their sin from Your sight.
But may they be [m](AR)overthrown before You;
Deal with them in the (AS)time of Your anger!
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 18:10 Lit to do it good
- Jeremiah 18:11 Lit make good
- Jeremiah 18:12 Lit do the
- Jeremiah 18:13 Lit these
- Jeremiah 18:15 Lit to worthlessness
- Jeremiah 18:15 As in ancient versions; MT caused them to
- Jeremiah 18:17 As in ancient versions; MT look them in the back and not in the face
- Jeremiah 18:19 Lit the voice of my opponents
- Jeremiah 18:20 Lit my soul
- Jeremiah 18:21 Lit hands of
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit unto death
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit cover over, atone for
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit ones made to stumble
Jeremiah 18
The Voice
18 The word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah.
Now God’s message comes through another prophetic drama played out in a potter’s shop somewhere in the city. The prophet sees an ordinary event but receives an extraordinary message.
Eternal One: 2 Go down to the potter’s shop in the city, and wait for My word.
3 So I went down to the potter’s shop and found him making something on his wheel. 4 And as I watched, the clay vessel in his hands became flawed and unusable. So the potter started again with the same clay. He crushed and squeezed and shaped it into another vessel that was to his liking. 5 In that moment, I heard again God’s word for His rebellious people.
Eternal One: 6 O people of Israel, can I not do the same to you as this potter has done? You are like clay in My hands—I will mold you as I see fit. 7 If I declare that I am going to uproot, stamp out, or destroy a nation or kingdom because of its wicked ways, and 8 then that same nation I warned turns away from its evil, then I will change My plans. In My compassion, I will not destroy it. 9 If at some other time I declare that I am going to build up and establish a nation, 10 but then it ignores My voice, thus committing evil right in front of Me, I will hold back the good I had planned for them.
(to Jeremiah) 11 Now, prophet, say to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem these words from the Eternal: “Look! I am planning and shaping disaster against you. Like clay on a wheel, I will shape you and your destiny. Turn back from your evil ways—all of you—before it is too late. Do what is right and good.” 12 But they will tell you, “It’s no use trying to persuade us. We have our own thoughts about how we should live, and each of us is firmly committed to our own way, evil or not.”
13 Who has heard of such betrayal as this? Ask the nations around you.
Even they won’t believe this dreadful thing the virgin Israel has done to Me.
14 Does the snow ever melt on the peaks of Lebanon’s mountains?
Does the cool water of those mountain streams ever run dry?[a]
15 They have forgotten Me. Instead, My people offer incense to worthless gods,
worshiping them as though they are real.
They have lost their way, stumbling from the ancient path of blessing.
Now they walk in the ruts of rebellion instead of taking the high road of obedience.
16 Because of their forgetfulness, their homeland will become a wasteland;
those who pass by will hiss and whistle;
Disturbed at the sight of this eerie desolation,
they will shake their heads in horror.
17 As the strong east wind off the desert scatters the dust,
so I will scatter My people before their enemies.
Just as they turned from Me, now I will turn from them.
I will not even look their way on the day of their disaster.
The strong words of Jeremiah and the warnings from God are difficult to hear. But it seems when evil is entrenched in a life, when people stubbornly persist in their wicked ways, such words are not just difficult, they are infuriating. The people of Judah now conspire again to silence this outspoken prophet.
People of Judah (to one another): 18 Come on. Let’s devise a plan against Jeremiah, for there is no way the teaching of our priests, the wisdom of our elders, or the words of our prophets are going to be lost and proven wrong. Do we really need to hear any more from him? Let’s attack his reputation, ruin his standing among us, and ignore everything he has to say.
19 Jeremiah: O Eternal my God, please listen to me.
Do You hear what my enemies are saying?
20 Should good be repaid with such evil?
They have set a trap for me.
Remember how I stood before You in prayer,
begging You to do them good,
Pleading for You to turn Your anger away from them,
and this is how they repay me!
21 Well then. Let their children starve!
Let their young warriors fall in battle!
Let their wives become childless widows!
Let their husbands be struck down and killed
and their young men die in battle!
22 Let them scream from their houses
when You suddenly release the attackers on them.
Why? Because they have set a trap for me;
they have hidden snares along the way to trip me up.
23 Yet, You knew this already, Eternal.
You know of their plans to kill me.
That’s why I am asking You not to forgive them,
not to forget their sins or erase their crimes from Your sight.
Let them be overthrown and killed before Your eyes.
Deal with them while Your anger is still hot.
Footnotes
- 18:14 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Jeremiah 18
New Living Translation
The Potter and the Clay
18 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But 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.
5 Then 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. 7 If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, 8 but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. 9 And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, 10 but 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.’”
12 But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires.”
13 So 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!
14 Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon?
Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry?
15 But 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.
16 Therefore, their land will become desolate,
a monument to their stupidity.
All who pass by will be astonished
and will shake their heads in amazement.
17 I 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
18 Then 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.
20 Should 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.
21 So 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!
22 Let 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.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
