Jeremiah 18

¹The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,

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

³Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he was making a work on the wheels.

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

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

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

⁷At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it;

⁸if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

⁹And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;

¹⁰if they do that which is evil in my sight, that they obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

¹¹Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.

¹²But they say, It is in vain; for we will walk after our own devices, and we will do every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart.

¹³Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Ask ye now among the nations, who hath heard such things; the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.

¹⁴Shall the snow of Lebanon fail from the rock of the field? or shall the cold waters that flow down from afar be dried up?

¹⁵For my people have forgotten me, they have burned incense to false gods; and they have been made to stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths, to walk in bypaths, in a way not cast up;

¹⁶to make their land an astonishment, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and shake his head.

¹⁷I 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 calamity.

¹⁸Then said they, 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 give heed to any of his words.

¹⁹Give heed to me, O Jehovah, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.

²⁰Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them.

²¹Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and give them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives become childless, and widows; and let their men be slain of death, and their young men smitten of the sword in battle.

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

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

Jeremiah 18

¹The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,

²Rise, and thou hast gone down to the potter's house, and there I cause thee to hear My words;

³and I go down to the potter's house, and lo, he is doing a work on the stones,

⁴and marred is the vessel that he is making, as clay in the hand of the potter, and he hath turned and he maketh it another vessel, as it was right in the eyes of the potter to make.

⁵And there is a word of Jehovah to me, saying:

⁶As this potter am I not able to do to you? O house of Israel, an affirmation of Jehovah. Lo, as clay in the hand of the potter, So are ye in My hand, O house of Israel.

⁷The moment I speak concerning a nation, And concerning a kingdom, To pluck up and to break down, and to destroy,

⁸And that nation hath turned from its evil, Because I have spoken against it, Then I have repented of the evil that I thought to do to it.

⁹And the moment I speak concerning a nation, And concerning a kingdom, to build, and to plant,

¹⁰And it hath done the evil thing in Mine eyes, So as not to hearken to My voice, Then I have repented of the good That I have spoken of doing to it.

¹¹And now, speak, I pray thee, unto men of Judah, And against inhabitants of Jerusalem, Saying: Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am framing against you evil, And devising against you a device, Turn back, I pray you, each from his evil way And amen your ways and your doings.

¹²And they have said, It is incurable, For after our own devices we do go, And each the stubbornness of his evil heart we do.

¹³Therefore, thus said Jehovah: Ask, I pray you, among the nations, Who hath heard like these? A very horrible thing hath the virgin of Israel done.

¹⁴Doth snow of Lebanon Cease from the rock of the field? Failed are the cold strange waters that flow?

¹⁵But My people have forgotten Me, to a vain thing they make perfume, And they cause them to stumble in their wayspaths of old, To walk in pathsa way not raised up,

¹⁶To make their land become a desolation, A hissing age-during, Every passer by it is astonished, And bemoaneth with his head.

¹⁷As an east wind I scatter them before an enemy, The neck, and not the face, I shew them, In the day of their calamity.'

¹⁸And they say, Come, And we devise against Jeremiah devices, For law doth not perish from the priest, Nor counsel from the wise, Nor the word from the prophet, Come, and we smite him with the tongue, And we do not attend to any of his words.

¹⁹Give attention, O Jehovah, unto me, And hearken to the voice of those contending with me.

²⁰Is evil recompensed instead of good, That they have dug a pit for my soul? Remember my standing before Thee to speak good of them, To turn back Thy wrath from them.

²¹Therefore, give up their sons to famine, And cause them to run on the sides of the sword, And their wives are bereaved and widows, And their men are slain by death, Their young men smitten by sword in battle,

²²A cry is heard from their houses, For Thou bringest against them suddenly a troop, For they dug a pit to capture me, And snares they have hidden for my feet.

²³And Thou, O Jehovah, Thou hast known, All their counsel against me is for death, Thou dost not cover over their iniquity, Nor their sin from before Thee blottest out, And they are made to stumble before Thee, In the time of Thine anger work against them!