Historical
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.’”
18 Then they said, “Come and let us (AA)devise plans against Jeremiah. Surely the (AB)law is not going to perish from the priest, nor (AC)counsel to the wise man, nor the divine (AD)word to the prophet! Come on and let us (AE)strike at him with our tongue, and let us (AF)give no heed to any of his words.”
19 Do give heed to me, O Yahweh,
And listen to the voice of those who contend against me!
20 (AG)Should good be repaid with evil?
For they have (AH)dug a pit for [k]me.
Remember how I (AI)stood before You
To speak good on their behalf,
So as to turn away Your wrath from them.
21 Therefore, (AJ)give their children over to famine
And deliver them up to the [l]power of the sword;
And let their wives become (AK)childless and (AL)widowed.
Let their men also be [m]smitten to death,
Their (AM)young men struck down by the sword in battle.
22 May an (AN)outcry be heard from their houses,
When You suddenly bring raiders upon them;
(AO)For they have dug a pit to capture me
And (AP)hidden snares for my feet.
23 Yet You, O Yahweh, know
All their [n]deadly counsel against me;
(AQ)Do not atone for their iniquity
Or blot out their sin from before You.
But may they be [o](AR)overthrown before You;
Deal with them in the (AS)time of Your anger!
The Broken Jar
19 Thus says Yahweh, “Go and buy a (AT)potter’s earthenware (AU)jar, and take some of the (AV)elders of the people and some of the (AW)elders of the priests. 2 Then go out to the (AX)valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the potsherd gate, and there (AY)call out the words that I tell you 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, O (AZ)kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to bring a (BA)calamity upon this place, at which the (BB)ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle. 4 Because they have (BC)forsaken Me and have (BD)made this a foreign place and have burned incense in it to (BE)other gods, that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the (BF)blood of the innocent 5 and have built the (BG)high places of Baal to burn their (BH)sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever come upon My heart, 6 therefore, behold, (BI)days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when this place will no longer be called (BJ)Topheth or (BK)the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter. 7 I will (BL)empty out the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem to the point of destruction in this place, and (BM)I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I will give over their (BN)carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. 8 I will also make this city an (BO)object of horror and of hissing; (BP)everyone who passes by it will be [p]horrified and hiss because of all its [q]slaughtering. 9 I will make them (BQ)eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life will distress them.”’
10 “Then you are to break the (BR)jar in the sight of the men who accompany you, 11 and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Just so will I (BS)break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will (BT)bury in Topheth [r]because there is no other place for burial. 12 This is what I will do to this place and its inhabitants,” declares Yahweh, “so as to make this city like Topheth. 13 And the (BU)houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be (BV)defiled like the place Topheth because of all the (BW)houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to (BX)all the heavenly host and (BY)poured out drink offerings to other gods.”’”
14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where Yahweh had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the (BZ)court of the house of Yahweh and said to all the people: 15 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have spoken against it because they have (CA)stiffened their necks so (CB)as not to hear My words.’”
Yahweh Speaks Against Pashhur
20 Then Pashhur the priest, the son of (CC)Immer, who was (CD)ruling overseer in the house of Yahweh, heard Jeremiah prophesying these words; 2 and Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet (CE)struck and put him in the (CF)stocks that were at the upper (CG)Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of Yahweh. 3 Now it happened that on the next day, Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks. And Jeremiah said to him, “Pashhur is not the name Yahweh has (CH)called you, but rather [s](CI)Magor-missabib. 4 For thus says Yahweh, ‘Behold, I am going to make you a (CJ)terror to yourself and to all your friends; and while (CK)your eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies. So I will (CL)give over all Judah to the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take them away into (CM)exile to Babylon and will strike them down with the sword. 5 I will also give over all the (CN)wealth of this city, all the fruit of its labor, and all its precious things; even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give over to the (CO)hand of their enemies, and they will plunder them, take them away, and bring them to Babylon. 6 And you, (CP)Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; and you will enter Babylon, and there you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your (CQ)friends to whom you have (CR)prophesied lies.’”
Jeremiah Curses the Day He Was Born
7 O Yahweh, You have enticed me, and I was enticed;
You were (CS)stronger than I, and You prevailed.
I have become a (CT)laughingstock all day long;
Everyone (CU)mocks me.
8 For each time I speak, I cry aloud;
I (CV)call out violence and devastation
Because for me the (CW)word of Yahweh has [t]resulted
In reproach and derision all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not (CX)remember Him
Or speak anymore in His name,”
Then in (CY)my heart it becomes like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
And I am weary of holding it in,
And (CZ)I cannot prevail.
10 For (DA)I have heard the bad report of many,
“(DB)Terror on every side!
(DC)Denounce him; yes, let us denounce him!”
[u]All my (DD)trusted friends,
Keeping watch for my fall, say:
“Perhaps he will be [v]deceived, so that we may (DE)prevail against him
And take our revenge on him.”
11 But (DF)Yahweh is with me like a ruthless mighty one;
Therefore my (DG)persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will be utterly ashamed, because they have not prospered,
With an (DH)everlasting dishonor that will not be forgotten.
12 Yet, O Yahweh of hosts, You who (DI)test the righteous,
Who see the [w]mind and the heart;
Let me (DJ)see Your vengeance on them,
For (DK)to You I have revealed my cause.
13 (DL)Sing to Yahweh, praise Yahweh!
For He has (DM)delivered the soul of the needy one
From the hand of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the (DN)day when I was born;
Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me!
15 Cursed be the man who brought the good news
To my father, saying,
“A [x](DO)baby boy has been born to you!”
And made him very glad.
16 But let that man be like the cities
Which Yahweh (DP)overthrew without [y]relenting,
And let him hear an (DQ)outcry in the morning
And a [z]shout of war at noon,
17 Because he did not (DR)put me to death from the womb,
So that my mother would have been my grave,
And her womb ever pregnant.
18 Why did I ever come forth from the womb
To (DS)look on trouble and sorrow,
So that my (DT)days have been spent in (DU)shame?
Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah
21 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh when (DV)King Zedekiah sent to him (DW)Pashhur, the son of Malchijah, and (DX)Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2 “Please (DY)inquire of Yahweh on our behalf, for [aa](DZ)Nebuchadnezzar king of (EA)Babylon is warring against us; perhaps Yahweh will deal with us (EB)according to all His [ab]wonderful acts, so that the enemy will go up from us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to (EC)turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will (ED)gather them into the center of this city. 5 I (EE)Myself will war against you with an (EF)outstretched hand and a strong arm, even in (EG)anger and wrath and great indignation. 6 I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great (EH)pestilence. 7 Then afterwards,” declares Yahweh, “(EI)I will give over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people, even those who remain in this city from the pestilence, the sword, and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives; and he will strike them down with the edge of the sword. He (EJ)will not show pity on them nor spare nor have compassion.”’
8 “You shall also say to this people, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I (EK)set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who (EL)inhabits this city will die by the (EM)sword and by famine and by pestilence; but he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as spoil. 10 For I have (EN)set My face against this city for [ac]evil and not for good,” declares Yahweh. “It will be (EO)given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will (EP)burn it with fire.”’
11 “Then say to the household of the (EQ)king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, 12 O (ER)house of David, thus says Yahweh:
“(ES)Render justice [ad]every (ET)morning;
And deliver the person who has been robbed from the [ae]power of his oppressor,
(EU)Lest My wrath go forth like fire
And (EV)burn with none to extinguish it,
Because of the evil of their deeds.
13 “Behold, (EW)I am against you, O (EX)inhabitant of the valley,
O [af]rocky plain,” declares Yahweh,
“You men who say, ‘(EY)Who will come down against us?
Or who will enter into our dwelling places?’
14 But I will punish you (EZ)according to the [ag]results of your deeds,” declares Yahweh,
“And I will (FA)kindle a fire in its forest
That it may devour all its surroundings.”’”
O Land, Hear Yahweh
22 Thus says Yahweh, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there you shall speak this word 2 and say, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, O king of Judah, who (FB)sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates. 3 Thus says Yahweh, “(FC)Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his (FD)oppressor. Also (FE)do not mistreat or do violence to the sojourner, the orphan, or the widow; and do not (FF)shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you men will indeed do this thing, then (FG)kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting for David on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people. 5 (FH)But if you will not obey these words, I (FI)swear by Myself,” declares Yahweh, “that this house will become a waste place.”’” 6 For thus says Yahweh concerning the house of the king of Judah:
“You are like (FJ)Gilead to Me,
Like the summit of Lebanon;
Yet most assuredly I will make you like a (FK)wilderness,
Like cities which are not inhabited.
7 For I will set apart (FL)destroyers against you,
Each with his weapons;
And they will (FM)cut down your choicest cedars
And (FN)throw them on the fire.
8 “Many nations will pass by this city; and they will (FO)say to one another, ‘Why has Yahweh done thus to this great city?’ 9 Then they will say, ‘Because they (FP)forsook the covenant of Yahweh their God and worshiped other gods and served them.’”
10 (FQ)Do not weep for the dead or console him,
But weep continually for the one who goes away,
For (FR)he will never return
Or see the land of his birth.
11 For thus says Yahweh in regard to [ah](FS)Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place, “He will never return there; 12 but in the place where they took him away into exile, there he will (FT)die and not see this land again.
13 “Woe to him who builds his house (FU)without righteousness
And his [ai]upper rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay
And (FV)does not give him his wages,
14 Who says, ‘I will (FW)build myself a roomy house
With spacious [aj]upper rooms
And cut out its windows,
[ak]Paneling it with (FX)cedar and painting it [al]bright red.’
15 Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
And (FY)do justice and righteousness?
Then it was (FZ)well with him.
16 He pled the cause of the (GA)afflicted and needy;
Then it was well.
(GB)Is not that what it means to know Me?”
Declares Yahweh.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
Are set on nothing except your own (GC)greedy gain
And on (GD)shedding innocent blood
And on doing oppression and extortion.”
18 Therefore thus says Yahweh in regard to (GE)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah,
“They will not (GF)lament for him:
‘(GG)Alas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister!’
They will not lament for him:
‘Alas for the master!’ or, ‘Alas for his splendor!’
19 He will be (GH)buried with a donkey’s burial,
Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
And lift up your voice in Bashan;
Cry out also from (GI)Abarim,
For all your (GJ)lovers have been broken.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity,
But (GK)you said, ‘I will not listen!’
(GL)This has been your way (GM)from your youth,
That you have not listened to My voice.
22 The wind will sweep away all your (GN)shepherds,
And your (GO)lovers will go into captivity;
Then you will surely be (GP)ashamed and feel dishonor
Because of all your evil.
23 You who inhabit Lebanon,
Nested in the cedars,
How you will groan when pangs come upon you,
(GQ)Pain like a woman in childbirth!
24 “As I live,” declares Yahweh, “even though [am](GR)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a (GS)signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull [an]you [ao]off; 25 and I will (GT)give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, indeed, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 I will (GU)hurl you and your (GV)mother who bore you into another land—there you were not born, but there you will die. 27 But as for the land to which their soul desires to return, they will not return to it.
28 Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar?
Or is he an (GW)undesirable vessel?
Why have he and his seed been (GX)hurled out
And cast into a (GY)land that they had not known?
29 (GZ)O land, land, land,
Hear the word of Yahweh!
30 Thus says Yahweh,
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