Beginning
The Potter’s House
18 The word came to Jeremiah from Adonai, saying: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.”
3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was making a work on the wheels. 4 Whenever the pot that he was making from the clay became flawed in the hand of the potter, he remade it into another pot, as it pleased the potter to make.
5 Then the word of Adonai came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares Adonai. “Behold, as the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. 7 At one moment I may speak about a nation or about a kingdom, to uproot, to pull down or to destroy it. 8 But if that nation turns from their evil, because of what I have spoken against it, I will relent concerning the calamity that I planned to do to it. 9 Or at another time I may speak about a nation or about a kingdom, to build up or to plant it. 10 But if it does evil in My sight, not listening to My voice, then I will relent of the good that I had said I would do to it.”
11 So now, speak to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, thus says Adonai: “I am about to bring calamity against you, and devise disaster against you. Turn back now—everyone from his evil way—and amend your ways and your doings.
12 But they say: ‘It’s hopeless! So we will walk after our own plans, and each of us will act in the stubbornness of his evil heart.’”
13 Therefore thus says Adonai:
“Ask now among the nations,
whoever has heard such things?
The virgin of Israel has done
a most terrible thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
abandon the rock of the field?
Or is the cold water flowing from afar
pulled back?
15 Yet My people have forgotten Me.
They burn incense to a delusion
and stumble in their ways
—off the ancient paths—
to walk on side-tracks,
rather than a built-up highway.
16 Their land will become a horror,
a perpetual hissing—
every one passing by will be stunned
and shake his head.
17 Like an east wind,
I will scatter them before the enemy.
I will see their back, not their face,
in the day of their calamity.”
Plots Against Jeremiah
18 Then they said: “Come, let us devise plans against Jeremiah. Surely Torah from the kohen will not be lost, nor will counsel from the wise, nor will the word from the prophet. Come, let’s strike at him with the tongue, and pay no attention to any of his words.”
19 Be attentive to me, Adonai!
Listen to the voice of my opponents.
20 Will good be repaid for evil?
For they dug a pit for my soul.
Remember how I stood before You
to speak good on their behalf,
to turn Your wrath from them.
21 Therefore give their children to famine
and pour out the power of the sword.
Let their wives be bereaved of children, and widows,
and let their men be slain to death,
and their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses
when suddenly You bring a troop on them.
For they dug a pit to capture me,
and hid snares for my feet.
23 Yet You know their whole plot,
Adonai, against me to slay me.
Do not forgive their iniquity
or blot out their sin before You.
But make them stumble before You.
Act against them in the time of Your anger.
Shattering a Clay Jar
19 Thus said Adonai: “Go, buy a potter’s clay jar, take some elders of the people, some elders of the kohanim, 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben-Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words that I will tell you, 3 and say, “Hear the word of Adonai, kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: ‘I am about to bring such a catastrophe on this place that whoever hears about it, his ears will tingle. 4 For they have forsaken Me and have alienated this place, by burning sacrifices in it to other gods, which neither they nor their forefathers, nor the kings of Judah have known. They have also filled this place with the blood of innocents. 5 They have built high places for Baal, in order to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal—something I never commanded, nor mentioned, nor did it ever come into My mind.’”
6 “Therefore behold, the days are coming”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“when this place will no longer be called Topheth or The Valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 So I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will have them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hand of them that seek their life. I will give their carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this city a horror and a hissing—every one passing by will be stunned and hiss because of all her wounds. 9 And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone will eat his companion’s flesh during the siege and distress, which their enemies and those who seek their life will inflict on them.
10 “Then you will shatter the jar in the presence of the people who accompany you, 11 and say to them, thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot: ‘Even so I will shatter this people and this city, as one shatters a potter’s jar, which can never be made whole again. So they will be burying in Topheth, for there will be no other place to bury.’”
12 “Thus I will do to this place”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“and to its inhabitants, making this city as Topheth. 13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be as defiled as the place Topheth—all the houses on whose roofs they burned incense to the whole heavenly host and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”
14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where Adonai had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the court of Adonai’s House, and said to all the people, 15 thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: “I am about to bring on this city and on all her towns the whole disaster that I pronounced against it, because they stiffened their neck, rather than hearing My words.”
Confronting a False Prophet
20 When Pashhur son of Immer the kohen, who was chief officer in the House of Adonai, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks[a] at the Upper Benjamin Gate by the House of Adonai. 3 The following morning, Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks.
Then Jeremiah said to him, “Adonai no longer calls your name Pashhur, but Magormissabib[b]. 4 For thus says Adonai: ‘Behold, I will make you a terror both to yourself and to everyone you love. They will fall by the sword of their enemies, while your eyes look on. So I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them captive to Babylon and will slay them with the sword.
5 “Moreover I will give away all the wealth of this city, and all its produce and its precious things, even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give over to the hand of their enemies, who will plunder them, take them away, and bring them to Babylon.
6 “As for you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, you will go into captivity, and you will go to Babylon. So there you will die, and there you will be buried—you and all your friends—to whom you have prophesied falsely.”
Fire Burning in My Bones
7 Adonai, You enticed me, so I was enticed.
You overpowered me, and prevailed.
I am a laughingstock all day long.
Everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I proclaim, “Violence and ruin!”
For the word of Adonai is scorn
and ridicule to me all day long.
9 But if I say: “I won’t mention Him,
or speak any more in His Name,”
then it is like fire burning in my heart
—shut up in my bones—
I weary myself holding it in,
but I cannot.
10 For I heard the whispering of many:
“‘Terror on every side?’
Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”
Even all my close friends
are watching for my fall:
“Perhaps he may be deceived,
so we’ll get the better of him,
and we’ll get our revenge on him.”
11 But Adonai is with me like a dreadful warrior.
Therefore my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail.
Since they are not insightful and not wise,
they will be utterly shamed—
an everlasting disgrace, never to be forgotten.
12 Yet, Adonai–Tzva’ot—testing the righteous,
seeing the mind and the heart,
let me see Your vengeance on them!
For to You have I presented my case.
13 Sing to Adonai, praise Adonai!
For He has delivered the soul of the needy one
from the hand of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the day I was born!
The day that my mother bore me—
may it never be blessed!
15 Cursed be the one who brought the news to my father,
saying, “A baby boy is born to you!”
making him so glad.
16 Now let that one be like the cities
which Adonai overturned, with no relenting—
let him hear a cry in the morning
and a shout of alarm at noon,
17 since he did not kill me in the womb,
so my mother might have been my grave—
her womb filled forever.
18 Why did I ever come forth out of the womb
to see trouble and sorrow,
and my days end in shame?
Warning to King Zedekiah and Judah
21 The word which came to Jeremiah from Adonai, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malchiah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the kohen, saying: 2 “Please inquire of Adonai for us, since Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps Adonai would deal with us according to all His wondrous miracles—so that he would withdraw from us?”
3 Then said Jeremiah to them, “Thus will you say to Zedekiah, 4 thus says Adonai, the God of Israel: ‘I will soon turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you use to fight against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans, who are besieging you outside the walls—I will assemble them in the center of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you, with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even with anger, fury and in great wrath. 6 I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast—they will die of a great pestilence.’”
7 “Then afterward,” declares Adonai, “I will deliver King Zedekiah of Judah and his servants, as well as the people—those surviving in this city from the pestilence, the sword and the famine—into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, into the hand of their foes, yes, into the hand of those who seek their life. So he will smite them with the edge of the sword; he will not spare them, nor have pity or compassion.”
8 Now to this people you will say, thus says Adonai: “Look, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, or by the pestilence. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you, he will live, and he will have his life as prize.”
10 “For I have set My face against this city for evil, not for good.” It is a declaration of Adonai. “It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.”
11 Also to the house of the king of Judah, hear the word of Adonai, 12 O house of David, thus says Adonai: “Render justice by morning, and rescue the one who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor. Otherwise My fury will go forth like fire and burn so none can extinguish it, because of their evil deeds.”
13 “Here I am, against you, situated in the valley, a rocky plateau”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“You are saying, ‘Who would come down against us? Who would enter into our lairs?’ 14 I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
“Also I will set fire to her forest, and it will consume all around her.”
Warning to David’s Heirs
22 Thus said Adonai: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and speak this word:
2 ‘Hear the word of Adonai, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David—you, your servants, and your people who enter by these gates.’ 3 Thus says Adonai: ‘Execute justice and righteousness. Rescue the one who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor. Do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the fatherless or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you really carry out this word, then through the gates of this palace will enter kings sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses—himself, his servants, and his people. 5 But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,’ declares Adonai, ‘that this palace will become a ruin.’”
6 For thus says Adonai concerning the house of the king of Judah:
“You are Gilead to Me—
the summit of Lebanon,
yet I will surely make you into a wilderness,
uninhabited cities.
7 I will consecrate destroyers against you,
each with his own weapons.
They will cut down your choice cedars
and cast them into the fire.
8 Many nations will pass by this city, and they will say, each to his neighbor, ‘Why has Adonai done such a thing to this great city?’ 9 Then they will answer: ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of Adonai their God, and worshipped other gods and served them.’”
10 Weep not for the dead or bemoan him.
Weep bitterly for him who departs,
for he will never return,
or see his native country again.
11 For thus says Adonai to Shallum, son of King Josiah of Judah, who became king in place of his father Josiah: “He who went forth from this place will never return there. 12 Instead, in the place where they led him captive, there will he die—he will see this land no more.”
13 Oy to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,
and his roof-chambers by injustice,
that makes his neighbor work without pay,
never giving him his wages,
14 who says: “I will build myself a big house with spacious rooms
and cut out my windows for it,
and panel it with cedar,
and paint it with vermilion!
15 Did you become king
just to be striving with cedar?
Did your father not eat and drink,
and do justice and righteousness?
Then it went well with him.
16 He pled the case of the poor and weak,
so it went well.
Is not this knowledge of Me?”
It is a declaration of Adonai.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
are only on your unjust gain,
and on shedding innocent blood,
and committing extortion and fraud.”
18 Therefore thus says Adonai about Jehoiakim son of King Josiah of Judah:
“They will not lament for him,
‘Oy, my brother!’ or ‘Oy, sister!’
They will not lament for him,
‘Oy, master!’ or ‘Oy, his majesty!’
19 With a donkey’s burial will he be buried,
dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
and lift up your voice in Bashan,
and cry from Abarim—
for all your lovers are broken.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity,
but you said, ‘I won’t listen!’
This has been your way since your youth—
for you never listened to My voice.
22 The wind will shepherd away all of your shepherds,
and your lovers will go into exile.
Surely then you will be ashamed
and humbled by all your wickedness.
23 O inhabitant of Lebanon,
nestled in the cedars,
how you will groan when pangs come on you,
pain like a woman in travail!
24 “As I live,” declares Adonai, “even if Coniah son of King Jehoiakim of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off, 25 and give you over into the hand of those seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 So I will cast you out, with your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born—and there will you die. 27 But as for the land where they long to return, they will never return there.”
28 Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered pot—
a jar with no delight in it?
Why are he and his seed cast out
into the land they do not know?
29 O land, land, land,
hear the word of Adonai!
30 Thus says Adonai:
“Write this man childless,
a man who will not prosper in his days.
For no man of his seed will prosper,
sitting on the throne of David
and ruling again in Judah.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.