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Jeremiah 18
EasyEnglish Bible
Jeremiah 18
EasyEnglish Bible
Jeremiah at the potter's house[a]
18 The Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 2 ‘Go down to the potter's house. I will tell you my message there.’ 3 So I went down to the potter's house. He was working at his wheel. 4 He was using clay to make pots with his hands. But, as he worked, sometimes a pot had the wrong shape. So he used the clay to make it into another pot. He made it in the shape that he wanted.
5 Then the Lord told me his message. 6 He said, ‘I tell you this: I can do to you, nation of Israel, the same thing that this potter does with his clay. I hold you in my hands, as the potter holds the clay in his hands. 7 Sometimes I may warn a nation or a kingdom that I will knock it down and destroy it. 8 But when I warn them, those people might stop doing wicked things. Then I would not punish them as I had promised to do. 9 Sometimes I may promise to build up a nation or a kingdom and make it strong. 10 But those people might start to do evil things. They might stop obeying me. Then I would not help them as I had promised to do.
11 So now you must speak to the people who live in Jerusalem and in all of Judah. Tell them that the Lord says this: “Listen to me! I will cause great trouble for you. I have decided to punish you. So you must all stop doing the evil things that you have been doing. Change the way that you live and do things that are right.” 12 But they will say, “Do not try to stop us! We will do whatever we want to do. We will continue to do wicked things.” ’
13 So the Lord says this:
‘Go and ask the people of other nations!
Have they ever heard about anything as terrible as this?
My people, Israel, should have been pure.
But they have done a disgusting thing!
14 There is always snow on Lebanon's mountains.
Cold streams of water always pour down from those high rocks.
15 Those things never change,
but my people have forgotten me.
They offer sacrifices to useless idols.
Because of that, they live in a wrong way.
They have left the good paths that their ancestors knew.
Instead, they walk along narrow paths
that nobody takes care of.
16 So I will cause their land to become a terrible place.
People will always see how disgusting my people are.
Everybody who goes near there
will be very surprised.
They will shake their heads and they will insult my people.
17 I will send enemies to attack them.
They will chase my people away,
like an east wind that blows away dust.
I will turn away from them
when that day of great trouble arrives.
I will refuse to help them.’
The people turn against Jeremiah[b]
18 Then some people said, ‘We must find a way to stop Jeremiah. We do not need him. The priests will still be here to teach us. Wise men will still be here to give us advice. The prophets will still be here to give us God's messages. We should speak bad things against Jeremiah. Then we will not have to listen to him any more.’
19 ‘Please listen to me, Lord!
Hear what my enemies are saying against me.
20 I have done good things for them,
but they are paying me back with evil things.
They have already dug a grave for me!
Remember that I stood in front of you
and I asked you to forgive them.
I asked you not to be angry with them.
21 So now I ask you to punish them!
Yes, may famine kill their children.
May they die in war.
May wives no longer have husbands or children.
May disease kill the old men.
May the young men die in battle.
22 Send people to attack them suddenly
and rob them in their homes.
Then they will shout aloud in great fear.
They have dug a hole for me to fall into.
They have prepared traps to catch me.
23 But Lord, you know how they want to kill me.
They are guilty, so do not forgive them.
Do not forget to punish them for their sins.
Put them under your power!
Punish them while you are still angry!’
Jeremiah 18
New International Version
Jeremiah 18
New International Version
At the Potter’s House
18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay(A) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,(B) Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,(C) torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent(D) and not inflict on it the disaster(E) I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built(F) up and planted, 10 and if it does evil(G) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider(H) the good I had intended to do for it.(I)
11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster(J) for you and devising a plan(K) against you. So turn(L) from your evil ways,(M) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’(N) 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.(O) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.(P)’”
13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“Inquire among the nations:
Who has ever heard anything like this?(Q)
A most horrible(R) thing has been done
by Virgin(S) Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters from distant sources
ever stop flowing?[a]
15 Yet my people have forgotten(T) me;
they burn incense(U) to worthless idols,(V)
which made them stumble(W) in their ways,
in the ancient paths.(X)
They made them walk in byways,
on roads not built up.(Y)
16 Their land will be an object of horror(Z)
and of lasting scorn;(AA)
all who pass by will be appalled(AB)
and will shake their heads.(AC)
17 Like a wind(AD) from the east,
I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face(AE)
in the day of their disaster.”
18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans(AF) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest(AG) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,(AH) nor the word from the prophets.(AI) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues(AJ) and pay no attention to anything he says.”
19 Listen to me, Lord;
hear what my accusers(AK) are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?(AL)
Yet they have dug a pit(AM) for me.
Remember that I stood(AN) before you
and spoke in their behalf(AO)
to turn your wrath away from them.
21 So give their children over to famine;(AP)
hand them over to the power of the sword.(AQ)
Let their wives be made childless and widows;(AR)
let their men be put to death,
their young men(AS) slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry(AT) be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit(AU) to capture me
and have hidden snares(AV) for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill(AW) me.
Do not forgive(AX) their crimes
or blot out their sins from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.(AY)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 18:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
Jeremiah 18
English Standard Version
Jeremiah 18
English Standard Version
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Arise, and go down to (A)the potter's house, and there I will let you hear[a] my words.” 3 So I went down to (B)the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was (C)spoiled in the potter's hand, and (D)he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, (E)can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. (F)Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will (G)pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, (H)turns from its evil, (I)I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will (J)build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. (K)Return, every one from his evil way, and (L)amend your ways and your deeds.’
12 “But they say, (M)‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to (N)the stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore thus says the Lord:
(O)Ask among the nations,
Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel
has done (P)a very horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave
the crags of Sirion?[b]
Do the mountain waters run dry,[c]
the cold flowing streams?
15 (Q)But my people have forgotten me;
they make offerings to (R)false gods;
they made them stumble in their ways,
(S)in the ancient roads,
and to walk into side roads,
(T)not the highway,
16 making their land (U)a horror,
a thing (V)to be hissed at forever.
(W)Everyone who passes by it is horrified
(X)and shakes his head.
17 (Y)Like the east wind (Z)I will scatter them
before the enemy.
(AA)I will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their calamity.”
18 Then they said, (AB)“Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, (AC)for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. (AD)Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”
19 Hear me, O Lord,
and (AE)listen to the voice of my adversaries.
20 (AF)Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet (AG)they have dug a pit for my life.
(AH)Remember how I stood before you
to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.
21 Therefore (AI)deliver up their children to famine;
give them over to the power of the sword;
let their wives become childless (AJ)and widowed.
May their men meet death by pestilence,
their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
22 (AK)May a cry be heard from their houses,
when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!
For (AL)they have dug a pit to take me
(AM)and laid snares for my feet.
23 Yet (AN)you, O Lord, know
all their plotting to kill me.
(AO)Forgive not their iniquity,
nor blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 18:2 Or will cause you to hear
- Jeremiah 18:14 Hebrew of the field
- Jeremiah 18:14 Hebrew Are foreign waters plucked up
Jeremiah 18
King James Version
Jeremiah 18
King James Version
18 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
11 Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.
12 And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.
14 Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?
15 Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;
16 To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.
17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
18 Then said they, Come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.
19 Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.
20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.
21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.
23 Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.
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New International Version (NIV) 
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English Standard Version (ESV) 
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