Old/New Testament
An Object Lesson from the Making of Pottery
18 The Lord said to Jeremiah:[a] 2 “Go down at once[b] to the potter’s house. I will speak to you further there.”[c] 3 So I went down to the potter’s house and found him working[d] at his wheel.[e] 4 Now and then[f] there would be something wrong[g] with the pot he was molding from the clay[h] with his hands. So he would rework[i] the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit.[j]
5 Then the Lord’s message came to me, 6 “I, the Lord, say:[k] ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay?[l] In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’ 7 There are times, Jeremiah,[m] when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom.[n] 8 But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong,[o] I will cancel the destruction[p] I intended to do to it. 9 And there are times when I promise to build up and establish[q] a nation or kingdom. 10 But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it. 11 So now, tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem this: The Lord says, ‘I am preparing to bring disaster on you! I am making plans to punish you.[r] So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing.[s] Correct the way you have been living and do what is right.’[t] 12 But they just keep saying, ‘We do not care what you say![u] We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!’”[v]
13 Therefore, the Lord says,
“Ask the people of other nations
whether they have heard of anything like this.
Israel should have been like a virgin,
but she has done something utterly revolting!
14 Does the snow ever completely vanish from the rocky slopes of Lebanon?
Do the cool waters from those distant mountains ever cease to flow?[w]
15 Yet my people have forgotten me
and offered sacrifices to worthless idols.
This makes them stumble along in the way they live
and leave the old reliable path of their fathers.[x]
They have left them to walk in bypaths,
in roads that are not smooth and level.[y]
16 So their land will become an object of horror.[z]
People will forever hiss out their scorn over it.
All who pass that way will be filled with horror
and will shake their heads in derision.[aa]
17 I will scatter them before their enemies
like dust blowing in front of a burning east wind.
I will turn my back on them and not look favorably on them[ab]
when disaster strikes them.”
Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him
18 Then some people[ac] said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah![ad] There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word.[ae] Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him![af] Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”
19 Then I said,[ag]
“Lord, pay attention to me.
Listen to what my enemies are saying.[ah]
20 Should good be paid back with evil?
Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me.[ai]
Just remember how I stood before you
pleading on their behalf[aj]
to keep you from venting your anger on them.[ak]
21 So let their children die of starvation.
Let them be cut down by the sword.[al]
Let their wives lose their husbands and children.
Let the older men die of disease[am]
and the younger men die by the sword in battle.
22 Let cries of terror be heard in their houses
when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them.[an]
For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden traps for me to step into.
23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill me.
Do not pardon their crimes!
Do not ignore their sins as though you had erased them.[ao]
Let them be brought down in defeat before you.
Deal with them while you are still angry![ap]
An Object Lesson from a Broken Clay Jar
19 The Lord told Jeremiah,[aq] “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.[ar] Take with you[as] some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders[at] of the priests. 2 Go out to the part of the Hinnom Valley that is near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate.[au] Announce there what I tell you.[av] 3 Say, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[aw] the God of Israel, has said, “Look here! I am about to bring a disaster on this place[ax] that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring.[ay] 4 I will do so because these people[az] have rejected me and have defiled[ba] this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods that neither they nor their ancestors[bb] nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children.[bc] 5 They have built places here[bd] for worship of the god Baal so that they could sacrifice their children as burnt offerings to him in the fire. Such sacrifices[be] are something I never commanded them to make. They are something I never told them to do! Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind. 6 So I, the Lord, say:[bf] “The time will soon come that people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Hinnom Valley. But they will call this valley[bg] the Valley of Slaughter! 7 In this place I will thwart[bh] the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. I will deliver them over to the power of their enemies who are seeking to kill them. They will die by the sword[bi] at the hands of their enemies.[bj] I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild beasts to eat. 8 I will make this city an object of horror, a thing to be hissed at. All who pass by it will be filled with horror and will hiss out their scorn[bk] because of all the disasters that have happened to it.[bl] 9 I will reduce the people of this city to desperate straits during the siege imposed on it by their enemies who are seeking to kill them. I will make them so desperate that they will eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters and the flesh of one another.”’”[bm]
10 The Lord continued,[bn] “Now break the jar in front of those who have come here with you. 11 Tell them the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says,[bo] ‘I will do just as Jeremiah has done.[bp] I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter’s vessel that is broken beyond repair.[bq] The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.’[br] 12 I, the Lord, say:[bs] ‘That is how I will deal with this city and its citizens. I will make it like Topheth. 13 The houses in Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled by dead bodies[bt] just like this place, Topheth. For they offered sacrifice to the stars[bu] and poured out drink offerings to other gods on the roofs of those houses.’”
14 Then Jeremiah left Topheth where the Lord had sent him to give that prophecy. He went to the Lord’s temple and stood[bv] in its courtyard and called out to all the people. 15 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[bw] says, ‘I will soon bring on this city and all the towns surrounding it[bx] all the disaster I threatened to do to it. I will do so because they have stubbornly refused[by] to pay any attention to what I have said!’”
Ministry in the Last Days
3 But understand this, that in the last days difficult[a] times will come. 2 For people[b] will be lovers of themselves,[c] lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. 5 They will maintain the outward appearance[d] of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these.[e] 6 For some of these insinuate themselves[f] into households and captivate weak women[g] who are overwhelmed with sins and led along by various passions. 7 Such women are always seeking instruction,[h] yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 And just as Jannes and Jambres[i] opposed Moses, so these people—who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith[j]—also oppose the truth. 9 But they will not go much further,[k] for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres.[l]
Continue in What You Have Learned
10 You, however,[m] have followed my teaching, my[n] way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance, 11 as well as the persecutions and sufferings[o] that happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra.[p] I endured these persecutions and the Lord delivered me from them all. 12 Now in fact all who want to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse,[q] deceiving others and being deceived themselves.[r] 14 You, however, must continue[s] in the things you have learned and are confident about. You know[t] who taught you[u] 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 Every scripture[v] is inspired by God[w] and useful for teaching, for reproof,[x] for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the person dedicated to God[y] may be capable[z] and equipped for every good work.
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