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.
Jeremiah 18
International Standard Version
The Potter’s House and the Ruined Vessel
18 The message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I’ll allow you to hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was doing work at the potter’s wheel. 4 But the vessel he was working on with the clay was ruined in the potter’s hand. So he remade it into another vessel that seemed appropriate to him.
5 Then this message from the Lord came to me: 6 “Israel, can’t I deal with you like this potter?” declares the Lord. “Look, Israel, like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. 7 At one moment I may speak about a nation or a kingdom to uproot it, pull it down, or destroy it. 8 But if that nation about which I spoke turns from its evil way, I’ll change my mind about the disaster that I had planned for it. 9 At another moment I may speak about a nation or kingdom to build it or plant it. 10 But if that nation does evil in my eyes by not obeying me, I’ll change my mind about the good that I said I would bring on it.
11 “Now say to the people of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Look, I’m designing a disaster just for you, and I’m making plans against you. Each one of you must repent from his evil way. Make your ways and deeds right.”’ 12 But they’ll say, ‘It’s useless! We will follow our plans and each of us will pursue his own evil desires.’[a]
13 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
‘Ask the nations.
Who has ever heard of anything like this?
You have done a most horrible thing,
virgin Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
ever vanish from its rocky slopes?[b]
Or does the cold water from a foreign land
ever cease to flow?
15 Yet my people have forgotten me,
and they burn incense to worthless idols
that make them stumble in their journey
on the ancient paths.
They walk on trails,
on a way that is not built up.
16 They make their land into a desolate place,
an object of lasting scorn.[c]
All who pass by will be appalled
and will shake their heads.[d]
17 ‘Like the east wind, I’ll scatter them
before the enemy.
I’ll show them my back and not my face,
on the day of their downfall.’”
Jeremiah Reacts to the Plot against Him
18 Then they said, “Come, let’s make up a plot against Jeremiah. After all, the priest’s instruction, the wise man’s counsel, and the prophet’s message won’t be destroyed.[e] So let’s verbally attack him. Pay no attention to anything he says!”
19 Lord, pay attention to me.
Listen to the voice of my accusers!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit to take my life.[f]
Remember! I stood before you
and spoke good on their behalf
in order to turn your wrath away from them.
21 Therefore, make their children undergo famine,
and deliver them over to death in time of war.[g]
May their women be childless widows!
May their men be slaughtered![h]
May their young men be slain
by the sword in battle!
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses because you
have brought a raiding party against them suddenly.
For they have dug a pit to capture me
and have set[i] traps for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know all their plots to kill me.
Don’t forgive their iniquity,
and don’t erase their sin from your sight.
Let them stumble before you.
When it’s time for you to be angry, act against them!
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 18:12 Lit. will do the stubbornness of his evil heart
- Jeremiah 18:14 Or Do rocks ever leave the slopes, or the snow from Lebanon?
- Jeremiah 18:16 Lit. hissing
- Jeremiah 18:16 I.e. in surprise at the magnitude of the destruction
- Jeremiah 18:18 Lit. perish
- Jeremiah 18:20 Or a pit for me
- Jeremiah 18:21 Lit. to the power of the sword.
- Jeremiah 18:21 Lit. killed dead
- Jeremiah 18:22 Or hidden
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.
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