Old/New Testament

18 ¶ The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

² Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

³ Then I went down to the potter’s house; and, behold, he wrought a work upon a wheel.

⁴ And the vessel that he made of clay was broken in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

⁵ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁶ O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel.

⁷ In an instant I shall speak against Gentiles and against kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy.

⁸ But if these Gentiles shall turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

⁹ And in an instant I shall speak concerning the nation and concerning the kingdom, to build and to plant it;

¹⁰ but if it should do evil in my sight, not hearing my voice, then I will repent of the good that I had determined to do unto them.

¹¹ ¶ Now therefore, speak to every man of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus hath the LORD said: Behold, I ordain evil against you and devise plans against you; return ye now each one from his evil way, and better your ways and your doings.

¹² And they said, This is useless, for we must walk after our own devices, and we must each one do the imagination of his evil heart.

¹³ Therefore thus hath the LORD said; Ask now among the Gentiles, who has heard such things: the virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing.

¹⁴ Will anyone leave the snow of the rock of the field that flows from Lebanon? or shall they forsake the singular, cold, flowing waters?

¹⁵ Because my people have forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not trodden;

¹⁶ to make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passes thereby shall be astonished and wag his head.

¹⁷ I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back, and not the face, in the day of their perdition.

¹⁸ ¶ Then they said, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law 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 tongue, and let us not consider any of his words.

¹⁹ Consider me, O LORD, and hear the voice of those 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 deliver up their sons to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.

²² Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them; for they have dug a pit to take me and hid snares for my feet.

²³ Yet, LORD, thou dost know all their counsel against me to slay me; do not forgive their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.

19 ¶ Thus hath the LORD said, Go and buy a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the elders of the people and of the elders of the priests;

² and go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry by the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee.

³ Therefore thou shalt say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus saith the LORD of the hosts, God of Israel: Behold, I bring evil upon this place, such that whoever hears of it, his ears shall tingle.

⁴ Because they have forsaken me and have estranged this place; and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;

⁵ and have built high places unto Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto this same Baal, which I did not command, nor speak, neither did it come into my mind.

⁶ Therefore, behold, the days come, said the LORD, that this place shall no longer be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of the slaughter.

⁷ And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those that seek their souls and I will give their carcasses to be food for the fowls of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth.

⁸ And I will make this city desolate and a hissing; every one that passes thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues.

⁹ And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and each one shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, with which their enemies and those that seek their souls shall straiten them.

¹⁰ ¶ Then thou shalt break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee,

¹¹ and shalt say unto them, Thus hath the LORD of the hosts said: Even so will I break this people and this city as one breaks a potter’s vessel that cannot be restored again; and they shall bury them in Tophet, for there shall be no other place to bury.

¹² Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD, and to its inhabitants and even make this city as Tophet:

¹³ And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be as the place of Tophet, defiled, because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of the heaven and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods.

¹⁴ Then Jeremiah returned from Tophet, 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 hath the LORD of the hosts, God of Israel said: Behold, I bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have spoken against her because they have hardened their necks that they might not hear my words.

3 ¶ This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

² For there shall be men who are lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, evil speakers, disobedient to their parents, unthankful, impure,

³ without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, without temperance, without meekness, without goodness,

⁴ traitors, rash, puffed up, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God,

⁵ having the appearance of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

⁶ For of this sort are those who creep into houses and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with various lusts,

⁷ ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

⁸ And in the manner that Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth, men of corrupt understanding, reprobate concerning the faith.

⁹ But they shall not prevail, for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as that of those also was.

¹⁰ ¶ But thou hast fully known my doctrine, conduct, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,

¹¹ persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra, persecutions I have endured, and the Lord delivered me out of them all.

¹² And all that desire to live godly in Christ Jesus shall also suffer persecution.

¹³ But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

¹⁴ But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and in that which has been entrusted unto thee, knowing of whom thou hast learned them,

¹⁵ and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto saving health by the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶ All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

¹⁷ that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.