Old/New Testament

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,

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.”

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.’”

Difficult Times Will Come

3 But know this, that ^(A)in the last days difficult times will come. ² For men will be ^(B)lovers of self, ^(C)lovers of money, ^(D)boastful, ^(E)arrogant, ^(F)blasphemers, ^(G)disobedient to parents, ^(H)ungrateful, ^(I)unholy, ^3 (J)unloving, irreconcilable, ^[a](K)malicious gossips, without self-control, without gentleness, ^(L)without love for good, ^4 (M)treacherous, ^(N)reckless, ^(O)conceited, ^(P)lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ holding to a form of ^[b](Q)godliness, but having ^(R)denied its power. ^(S)Keep away from such men as these. ⁶ For among them are those who ^[c](T)enter into households and take captive ^[d](U)weak women weighed down with sins, being led on by ^(V)various desires, ⁷ always learning and never able to ^(W)come to the ^[e]full knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Just as ^(X)Jannes and Jambres ^(Y)opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, ^(Z)men of depraved mind, disqualified in regard to the faith. ⁹ But they will not make further progress, for their ^(AA)folly will be obvious to all, just ^(AB)as theirs was also.

¹⁰ But you ^(AC)followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, ^(AD)love, ^[f]perseverance, ^11 (AE)persecutions, and ^(AF)sufferings, such as happened to me at ^(AG)Antioch, at ^(AH)Iconium, and at ^(AI)Lystra. What ^(AJ)persecutions I endured, and out of them all ^(AK)the Lord rescued me! ¹² Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus ^(AL)will be persecuted.

¹³ But evil men and impostors ^(AM)will proceed from bad to worse, ^(AN)deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁴ But you, ^(AO)continue in the things you learned and became convinced of, knowing from whom you learned them, ¹⁵ and that ^(AP)from childhood you have known ^(AQ)the sacred writings which are able to ^(AR)make you wise unto ^(AS)salvation through faith which is in ^(AT)Christ Jesus. ^16 (AU)All Scripture is ^[g]God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for ^[h]training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that ^(AV)the man of God may be equipped, having been ^(AW)thoroughly equipped for every good work.