Jeremiah 18

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

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

³So I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he was at work at the wheel.

⁴And the vessel which he was making of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he began anew and made it another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

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

⁶Cannot I do after the manner of this potter With respect to you. O house of Israel, saith Jehovah? Behold, as the clay is in the hand of the potter, So are ye in my hand, O house of Israel!

⁷Whenever I speak concerning a nation or a kingdom, That I will pluck it up, cast it down, or destroy it,

⁸If that nation shall turn from its wickedness On account of which I threatened it, Then will I repent of the evil which I purposed to do to it.

⁹And whenever I speak concerning a nation or a kingdom, That I will build it, or plant it,

¹⁰And it shall do that which is evil in my sight, And not hearken to my voice, Then will I repent of the good with which I promised to bless them.

¹¹And now speak to the men of Judah, And to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am framing evil against you, And meditating a design against you; Return ye now every one from his evil way, And amend your ways and your doings.

¹²But they say, "There is no remedy, For we will walk after our own devices, And we will practise every one the perverseness of his evil heart."

¹³Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Inquire ye now among the nations, Who hath heard such things as these? The virgin of Israel hath done a deed of horror.

¹⁴Shall the snow from the rocks of Lebanon forsake my fields? Or shall the cold flowing waters, that come from afar, be dried up?

¹⁵Yet my people have forgotten me, And burned incense to vanity; They stumble in their paths, the old ways, And walk in ways that have not been thrown up,

¹⁶To make their land a desolation, A perpetual hissing; Every one that passeth through it shall be amazed, And shake his head.

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

¹⁸But they say, "Come, let us devise measures against Jeremiah; For the law shall not perish from the priest, Nor counsel from the wise, Nor the word from the prophet; Come, let us smite him with the tongue, And not give heed to any of his words."

¹⁹Give heed to me, O Jehovah, And hear the voice of my adversaries!

²⁰Shall evil be returned for good? For they have digged a pit for me. Remember how I have stood before thee, To announce good to them, And to turn away thy wrath from them!

²¹Therefore give thou up their sons to famine, And deliver them to the edge of the sword! Let their wives be childless and widows, Let their men be slain by pestilence, And their young men fall by the sword in battle!

²²Let a cry be heard from their houses, When thou shalt bring a troop upon them suddenly! For they have digged a pit to take me, And hidden snares for my feet.

²³Thou, O Jehovah, knowest all their plots against my life! Cover not their iniquity, And blot not out their sin from thy sight! But let them be overthrown before thee; Deal with them in the time of thy wrath!

Jeremiah 18

¹The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, 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 wrought a work on the wheels.

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

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

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

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

⁸If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, 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 it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

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

¹²And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.

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

¹⁴Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?

¹⁵Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;

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

¹⁷I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew 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 Lord, 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 that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.

²¹Therefore deliver up their children 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.

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, Lord, 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 thus with them in the time of thine anger.