Beginning
18 2 God showeth by the example of a potter, that it is in his power to destroy the despisers of his word. 18 The conspiracy of the Jews against Jeremiah. 19 His prayer against his adversaries.
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
2 Arise, and go down into the potter’s house, and there shall I show thee 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 [a]of clay, was broken in the hand of the potter, so he returned, and made it another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
5 Then the word of the Lord came unto 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 you in mine hand, O house of Israel.
7 I will speak suddenly against a nation, or against a kingdom to pluck it up, and to root it out, and to destroy it.
8 But if this nation against whom I have pronounced turn from their wickedness, I will [b]repent of the plague that I thought to bring upon them.
9 And I will speak suddenly concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom to build it and to plant it.
10 But if it do evil in my sight, and hear not my voice, I will repent of the good that I thought to do for them.
11 Speak thou now therefore unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I prepare a plague for you, and purpose a thing against you: return you therefore every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your works good.
12 But they said [c]desperately, Surely we will walk after our own imaginations, and do every man after the stubbornness of his wicked heart.
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Ask now among the heathen, who hath heard such things? the virgin of Israel hath done very filthily.
14 Will a man forsake the snow of Lebanon, which cometh from the rock of the field? [d]or shall the cold flowing waters, that come from another place, be forsaken?
15 Because my people hath forgotten me, and have burnt incense to vanity, and their prophets have caused them to stumble in their ways from the [e]ancient ways, to walk in the paths and way that is not trodden,
16 To make their land desolate, and a perpetual derision, so that everyone that passeth thereby, shall be astonished and wag his head,
17 I will scatter them with an East wind before the enemy: I will show them the back, and [f]not the face in the day of their destruction.
18 Then said they, Come, and let us imagine some device against Jeremiah: for the Law [g]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 [h]tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.
19 Hearken unto me, O Lord, and hear the voice of them that contend with me.
20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have dug 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, [i]deliver up their children to famine, and let them drop away by the force of the sword, let their wives be robbed of their children, and be widows: and let their husbands be put to death, and let their young men be slain by the sword in the battle.
22 Let the cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring an host suddenly upon them: for they have dug a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.
23 Yet Lord thou knowest all their counsel against me tendeth to death: forgive not their iniquity, neither put out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee: deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.
19 He prophesieth the destruction of Jerusalem for the contempt and despising of the word of God.
1 Thus saith the Lord, Go, and buy an earthen bottle of a potter, and take of the ancients for the people, and of the ancients of the Priests,
2 And go forth unto the valley of Ben-Hinnom, which is by the entry of the [j]East gate: and thou shalt preach there the words, that I shall tell thee,
3 And shalt say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O [k]Kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring a plague upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall [l]tingle.
4 Because they have forsaken me, and profaned this place, and have burnt incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they, nor their fathers have known, nor the Kings of Judah (they have filled this place also with the blood of innocents,
5 And they have built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I [m]commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind)
6 Therefore behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that this place shall no more be called [n]Topheth, nor the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter.
7 And I will bring the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem to nought in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of them that seek their lives: and their carcasses will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the field.
8 (A)And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing, so that everyone that passeth thereby, shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.
9 (B)And I will feed them with the flesh of their sons, and with the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies that seek their lives, shall hold them strait.
10 Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee,
11 And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a [o]potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again, and they shall bury them in Topheth till there be no place to bury.
12 Thus will I do unto this place, saith the Lord, and to the inhabitants thereof, and I will make this city like Topheth.
13 For the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the Kings of Judah shall be defiled as the place of Topheth, because of all the [p]houses upon whose [q]roofs they have burnt incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods.
14 Then came Jeremiah from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the court of the Lord’s house, and said to all the people,
15 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring upon this city, and upon all her towns, all the plagues that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, and would not hear my words.
20 Jeremiah is smitten and cast into prison for preaching of the word of God. 3 He prophesieth the captivity of Babylon. 7 He complaineth that he is a mocking stock for the word of God. 9 He is compelled by the spirit to preach the word.
1 When Pashhur, the son of Immer, the priest, which was appointed governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things,
2 Then Pashhur smote Jeremiah the Prophet, and put him in the [r]stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord.
3 And on the morning, Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The Lord hath not called thy name Pashhur, but [s]Magor-Missabib.
4 For thus saith the Lord, behold, I will make thee to be a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends, and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it, and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babel, and he shall carry them captive into Babel, and shall slay them with the sword.
5 Moreover, I will deliver all the substance of this city, and all the labors thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the Kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them away and carry them to Babel.
6 And thou Pashhur, and all that dwell in thine house, shall go into captivity, and thou shalt come to Babel, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou and all thy [t]friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.
7 O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I am [u]deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast [v]prevailed: I am in derision daily: everyone mocketh me.
8 For since I spake, I cried out of wrong, and proclaimed [w]desolation: therefore the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and in derision daily.
9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak anymore in his Name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
10 For I had heard the railing of many, and fear on every side. [x]Declare, said they, and we will declare it: all my familiars watched for mine halting, saying, It may be that he is deceived: so we shall prevail against him, and we shall execute our vengeance upon him.
11 [y]But the Lord is with me like a mighty giant: therefore my persecutors shall be overthrown, and shall not prevail, and shall be greatly confounded: for they have done unwisely, and their everlasting shame shall never be forgotten.
12 (C)But, O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.
13 Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of the wicked.
14 ¶ [z]Cursed be the day wherein I was born: and let not the day wherein my mother bare me, be blessed.
15 Cursed be the man that showed my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee, and comforted him.
16 And let that man be as the [aa]cities, which the Lord hath overturned and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noon tide,
17 Because he hath not slain me, even from the womb, or that my mother might have been my grave, or her womb a perpetual [ab]conception.
18 How is it, that I came forth of the womb, to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
21 He prophesieth that Zedekiah shall be taken, and the city burned.
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashhur, the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the Priest, saying,
2 [ac]Inquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us, (for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel maketh war against us) if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may return up from us.
3 Then said Jeremiah, Thus shall you say to Zedekiah,
4 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will [ad]turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babel, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand, and with a mighty arm, even in anger and in wrath, and in great indignation.
6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
7 And after this, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah the King of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city, from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their lives, and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword: he shall not spare them, neither have pity nor compassion.
8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I set before you the [ae]way of life, and the way of [af]death.
9 (D)He that abideth in this city, shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans, that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a [ag]prey.
10 For I have set my face against this city, for evil and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babel, and he shall burn it with fire.
11 ¶ And say unto the house of the King of Judah, Hear ye the word of the Lord.
12 O house of David, Thus saith the Lord, (E)Execute judgment [ah]in the morning, and deliver the oppressed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the wickedness of your works.
13 Behold, I come against thee, [ai]O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord, which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
14 But I will visit you according to the fruit of your works, saith the Lord, and I will kindle a fire [aj]in the forest thereof, and it shall devour round about it.
22 1 He exhorteth the King to judgment and righteousness. 9 Why Jerusalem is brought into captivity. 11 The death of Shallum the son of Josiah is prophesied.
1 Thus said the Lord, Go down to the house of the King of Judah, and speak there this thing,
2 And say, Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates.
3 Thus saith the Lord, (F)Execute ye judgment and [ak]righteousness, and deliver the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor, and vex not the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow: do no violence, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
4 For if ye do this thing, then shall the kings sitting upon the throne of David enter in by the gates of this House, (G)and ride upon chariots and upon horses, both he and his servants and his people.
5 But if ye will not hear these words, I [al]swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this House shall be waste.
6 For thus hath the Lord spoken upon the king’s house of Judah, Thou art [am]Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon, yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and as cities not inhabited.
7 And I will [an]prepare destroyers against thee, everyone with his weapons, and they shall cut down thy chief [ao]cedar trees, and cast them in the fire.
8 [ap]And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city?
9 Then shall they answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
10 ¶ Weep not for the dead, and be not moved for them, but weep for him [aq]that goeth out: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
11 For thus saith the Lord, As touching [ar]Shallum the son of Josiah King of Judah, which reigned for Josiah his father, which went out of this place, he shall not return thither,
12 But he shall die in the place, whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
13 ¶ Woe unto him that buildeth his house by [as]unrighteousness, and his chambers without equity: he useth his neighbor without wages, and giveth him not for his work.
14 He saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers: so he will make himself large windows, and ceiling with cedar, and paint them with vermilion.
15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy [at]father eat and drink and prosper, when he executed judgment and justice?
16 When he judged the cause of the afflicted and the poor, he prospered: was not this because he knew me, saith the Lord?
17 But thine eyes and thine heart are but only for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for destruction, even to do this.
18 Therefore thus saith the Lord against Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah king of Judah, They shall not [au]lament him, saying, Ah, my brother, or ah sister: neither shall they mourn for him, saying, Ah, lord, or ah, his glory.
19 He shall be buried, as an ass [av]is buried, even drawn and cast forth without the gates of Jerusalem.
20 ¶ Go up to [aw]Lebanon, and cry: shout in [ax]Bashan, and cry by the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed.
21 I spake unto thee when thou wast in prosperity: but thou saidest, I will not hear, this hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou wouldest not obey my voice.
22 The wind shall feed all thy pastors, [ay]and thy lovers shall go into captivity: and then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded of all thy wickedness.
23 Thou that dwellest in Lebanon, and makest thy nest in the [az]cedars, how beautiful shalt thou be when sorrows come upon thee, as the sorrow of a woman in travail?
24 As I live, saith the Lord, though [ba]Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were the signet of my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence.
25 And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them, whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 And I will cause them to carry thee away, and thy mother that bare thee into another country, where ye were not born, and there shall ye die.
27 But to the land, whereunto they desire to return, they shall not return thither.
28 Is not this man Coniah as a despised and broken idol? or as a vessel, wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they carried away, he and his seed, and cast out into a land that they know not?
29 O [bb]earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.
30 Thus saith the Lord, Write this [bc]man destitute of children, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for there shall be no man of his seed that shall prosper and sit upon the throne of David, or bear rule anymore in Judah.
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