The Potter and the Clay

18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Arise, and go down to (A)the potter's house, and there I will let you hear[a] my words.” So I went down to (B)the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 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.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “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. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will (G)pluck up and break down and destroy it, 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. 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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 18:2 Or will cause you to hear
  2. Jeremiah 18:14 Hebrew of the field
  3. Jeremiah 18:14 Hebrew Are foreign waters plucked up

The Potter and the Clay

18 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 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.

Then the Lord gave me this message: “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. If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. 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.”

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