Jeremiah 18
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 18
The Potter’s Vessel.[a] 1 This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Arise and go down to the potter’s house; there you will hear my word. 3 I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel. 4 Whenever the vessel of clay he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making another vessel of whatever sort he pleased.(A) 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done?—oracle of the Lord. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.(B) 7 (C)At one moment I may decree concerning a nation or kingdom that I will uproot and tear down and destroy it; 8 but if that nation against whom I have decreed turns from its evil, then I will have a change of heart regarding the evil which I have decreed.(D) 9 At another moment, I may decree concerning a nation or kingdom that I will build up and plant it; 10 but if that nation does what is evil in my eyes, refusing to obey my voice, then I will have a change of heart regarding the good with which I planned to bless it.(E)
11 And now, tell this to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am fashioning evil against you and making a plan. Return, all of you, from your evil way; reform your ways and your deeds.(F) 12 But they will say, “No use! We will follow our own devices; each one of us will behave according to the stubbornness of our evil hearts!”(G)
Unnatural Apostasy
13 Therefore thus says the Lord:
Ask among the nations—
who has ever heard the like?
Truly horrible things
virgin Israel has done!(H)
14 Does the snow of Lebanon[b]
desert the rocky heights?
Do the gushing waters dry up
that flow fresh down the mountains?
15 Yet my people have forgotten me:
they offer incense in vain.
They stumble off their paths,
the ways of old,
Traveling on bypaths,
not the beaten track.(I)
16 Their land shall be made a waste,
an object of endless hissing:[c]
All passersby will be horrified,
shaking their heads.(J)
17 Like the east wind, I will scatter them
before their enemies;
I will show them my back, not my face,
in their day of disaster.(K)
Another Prayer for Vengeance. 18 “Come,” they said, “let us devise a plot against Jeremiah, for instruction will not perish from the priests, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. Come, let us destroy him by his own tongue. Let us pay careful attention to his every word.”(L)
19 Pay attention to me, O Lord,
and listen to what my adversaries say.
20 Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit to take my life?
Remember that I stood before you
to speak on their behalf,
to turn your wrath away from them.(M)
21 So now, give their children[d] to famine,(N)
deliver them to the power of the sword.
Let their wives be childless and widows;
let their husbands die of pestilence,
their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
22 May cries be heard from their homes,
when suddenly you send plunderers against them.
For they have dug a pit to capture me,
they have hidden snares for my feet;
23 But you, Lord, know
all their planning for my death.
Do not forgive their crime,
and their sin do not blot out from your sight!
Let them stumble before you,
in the time of your anger act against them.(O)
Footnotes
- 18:1–12 The lesson of the potter is that God has the power to destroy or restore, changing his plans accordingly as these nations disobey him or fulfill his will. Cf. Jon 3:10.
- 18:14 Lebanon: here apparently including Mount Hermon, whose snow-capped peak can be seen from parts of Palestine all year round. The prophet contrasts the certainties of nature with Israel’s unnatural desertion of the Lord for idols (v. 15).
- 18:16 Hissing: in some ancient Near Eastern cultures hissing was not only a sign of derision but a magical means of keeping demons away; people hissed in order to ward off danger, like whistling in a cemetery.
- 18:21 Give their children: often an extended family is meant, to be rewarded or punished as a unit.
Jeremiah 18
New King James Version
The Potter and the Clay
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 you to hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the [a]wheel. 4 And the vessel that he [b]made of clay was [c]marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, (A)can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, (B)as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! 7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to (C)pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 (D)if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, (E)I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
11 “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. (F)Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings (G)good.” ’ ”
God’s Warning Rejected
12 And they said, (H)“That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one [d]obey the (I)dictates[e] of his evil heart.”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(J)“Ask now among the Gentiles,
Who has heard such things?
The virgin of Israel has done (K)a very horrible thing.
14 Will a man [f]leave the snow water of Lebanon,
Which comes from the rock of the field?
Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters?
15 “Because My people have forgotten (L)Me,
They have burned incense to worthless idols.
And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways,
From the (M)ancient paths,
To walk in pathways and not on a highway,
16 To make their land (N)desolate and a perpetual (O)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And shake his head.
17 (P)I will scatter them (Q)as with an east wind before the enemy;
(R)I will [g]show them the back and not the face
In the day of their calamity.”
Jeremiah Persecuted
18 Then they said, (S)“Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; (T)for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”
19 Give heed to me, O Lord,
And listen to the voice of those who contend with me!
20 (U)Shall evil be repaid for good?
For they have (V)dug a pit for my life.
Remember that I (W)stood before You
To speak good [h]for them,
To turn away Your wrath from them.
21 Therefore (X)deliver up their children to the famine,
And pour out their blood
By the force of the sword;
Let their wives become widows
And (Y)bereaved of their children.
Let their men be put to death,
Their young men be slain
By the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses,
When You bring a troop suddenly upon them;
For they have dug a pit to take me,
And hidden snares for my feet.
23 Yet, Lord, You know all their counsel
Which is against me, to slay me.
(Z)Provide no atonement for their iniquity,
Nor blot out their sin from Your sight;
But let them be overthrown before You.
Deal thus with them
In the time of Your (AA)anger.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 18:3 Potter’s wheel
- Jeremiah 18:4 was making
- Jeremiah 18:4 ruined
- Jeremiah 18:12 Lit. do
- Jeremiah 18:12 stubbornness or imagination
- Jeremiah 18:14 forsake
- Jeremiah 18:17 So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT look them in
- Jeremiah 18:20 concerning
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
