Jeremiah 18:1-17
Legacy Standard Bible
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh saying, 2 “Arise and (A)go down to the potter’s house, and there I will make you hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he was making something on the [a]wheel. 4 But the vessel that he was making of clay was ruined in the hand of the potter, so he turned around and made it into another vessel, according to what was right in the eyes of the potter to make.
5 Then the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 6 “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares Yahweh. “Behold, like the (B)clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. 7 At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (C)uproot, to tear down, or to make it perish; 8 (D)but if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will [b](E)relent concerning the calamity I planned to do against 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 but if it does (G)evil in My sight by not listening to My voice, then I will [c](H)relent concerning the good which I promised, to do good to it. 11 So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am (I)forming calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh (J)turn back, each of you from his evil way, and do good in 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 act according to the (L)stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore thus says Yahweh,
‘(M)Ask now among the nations,
Who ever heard the like of [d]this?
The (N)virgin of Israel
Has done a most (O)appalling thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon forsake the rock of the open country?
Or is the cold flowing water from a strange land ever uprooted?
15 For (P)My people have forgotten Me;
(Q)They burn incense [e]to worthless gods,
And they [f]have stumbled [g]from their ways,
[h]From the (R)ancient paths,
To walk in bypaths,
Not on a (S)highway,
16 To make their land an (T)object of horror,
An object of perpetual (U)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be [i]horrified
And (V)shake his head.
17 Like an (W)east wind I will (X)scatter them
Before the enemy;
I will [j]show them (Y)My back and not My face
(Z)In the day of their disaster.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 18:3 Lit pair of stone discs
- Jeremiah 18:8 Or regret, cf. 1 Sam 15:11, 29, 3
- Jeremiah 18:10 Lit regret
- Jeremiah 18:13 Lit these
- Jeremiah 18:15 Lit to worthlessness
- Jeremiah 18:15 As in ancient versions; Heb caused them to
- Jeremiah 18:15 Or in
- Jeremiah 18:15 Or in
- Jeremiah 18:16 Or desolate, cf. Lev 26:32
- Jeremiah 18:17 As in ancient versions; M.T. look them in the back and not in the face
Jeremiah 18:1-17
Common English Bible
God the potter
18 Jeremiah received the Lord’s word: 2 Go down to the potter’s house, and I’ll give you instructions about what to do there. 3 So I went down to the potter’s house; he was working on the potter’s wheel. 4 But the piece he was making was flawed while still in his hands, so the potter started on another, as seemed best to him. 5 Then the Lord’s word came to me: 6 House of Israel, can’t I deal with you like this potter, declares the Lord? Like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in mine, house of Israel! 7 At any time I may announce that I will dig up, pull down, and destroy a nation or kingdom; 8 but if that nation I warned turns from its evil, then I’ll relent and not carry out the harm I intended for it. 9 At the same time, I may announce that I will build and plant a nation or kingdom; 10 but if that nation displeases and disobeys me, then I’ll relent and not carry out the good I intended for it. 11 Now say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem: This is what the Lord says: I am a potter preparing a disaster for you; I’m working out a plan against you. So each one of you, turn from your evil ways; reform your ways and your actions. 12 But they said, “What’s the use! We will follow our own plans and act according to our own willful, evil hearts.”
13 Therefore, the Lord proclaims:
Ask among the nations:
Have you ever heard anything like this?
Virgin Israel has done
the most horrible thing.
14 Does the snow on the mountains of Lebanon ever melt entirely
off their rocky cliffs?
Do the cool mountain streams ever dry up?[a]
15 Yet my people have forgotten me;
they have offered sacrifices to a lie.
And so they have stumbled along the way,
even along the ancient paths.
They have taken side roads,
not the main roads.[b]
16 They have ruined their country
and brought utter shame on it.
All who pass by are shocked
and shake their heads.
17 Like a strong east wind,
I will scatter them before their enemy.
When disaster strikes them,
I will show them my back,
not my face.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 18:14 Heb uncertain; or be dug up
- Jeremiah 18:15 Heb uncertain
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