Jeremiah 18
1 The word that came from Jeremias to the Lord, saying:
This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there thou shalt hear my words.
Go down right away to the potter's house. I will give you my message there.
3 And I went down into the potter’s house, and behold he was doing a work on the wheel.
I went down to the potter's house and saw him working at his potter's wheel.
4 And the vessel was broken which he was making with clay with his hands: and turning he made another vessel, as it seemed good in his eyes to make it.
But the pot that he was making from the clay went wrong. So he made it into something different as he thought best.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
The Lord's message came to me, saying,
6 Cannot I do with you as this potter, saith the Lord? behold as clay is in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
People of Israel, declares the Lord, can't I deal with you just like this potter does with his clay? I hold you in my hand just like clay in the potter's hand, people of Israel.
7 I will suddenly speak against a nation, and against a kingdom, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy it.
At one time it could happen that I announce that a nation or a kingdom is going to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed.
8 If that nation against which I have spoken, shall repent of their evil, I also will repent of the evil that I have thought to do to them.
However, if that nation I warned gives up its evil ways, then I will change my mind regarding the disaster I was about to bring.
9 And I will suddenly speak of a nation and of a kingdom, to build up and plant it.
At another time I could announce that I'm going to build up and give power to a nation or a kingdom.
10 If it shall do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice: I will repent of the good that I have spoken to do unto it.
But if it does evil in my sight and refuses to listen to my voice, then I will change my mind regarding the good I had planned for it.
11 Now therefore tell the men of Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Behold I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: let every man of you return from his evil way, and make ye your ways and your doings good.
So tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says: Watch out! I am preparing disaster for you, and working out a plan against you. All of you, give up your evil ways. Live right and act right!
12 And they said: We have no hopes: for we will go after our own thoughts, and we will do every one according to the perverseness of his evil heart.
But they'll say, “We just can't! We'll do whatever we want. Each of us will stubbornly follow our own evil thinking.”
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord: Ask among the nations: Who hath heard such horrible things, as the virgin of Israel hath done to excess?
Consequently this is what the Lord says: Ask around the nations—has anybody ever heard anything like this? Virgin Israel has acted really badly.
14 Shall now the snow of Libanus fail from the rock of the field? or can the cold waters that gush out and run down, be taken away?
Does the snow of Lebanon ever disappear from its rocky mountain-tops? Do its cool waters that flow from such distant sources ever dry up?
15 Because my people have forgotten me, sacrificing in vain, and stumbling in their ways, in ancient paths, to walk by them in a way not trodden:
But my people have rejected me! They burn incense to useless idols which trip them up, making them leave the old roads in order to walk down unmade paths instead of the highway.
16 That their land might be given up to desolation, and to a perpetual hissing: every one that shall pass by it, shall be astonished, and wag his head.
They have turned their country into a horrific wasteland, a place that will always be treated with contempt. People passing by will be shocked, shaking their heads in disbelief.
17 As a burning will I scatter them before the enemy: I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their destruction.
Like a strong wind from the east I will scatter them before the enemy. I will turn my back on them and not look at them when their time of trouble comes.
18 And they said: Come, and let us invent devices against Jeremias: for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet: come, and let us strike him with the tongue, and let us give no heed to all his words.
Some people decided, “We need a plan to deal with Jeremiah. There'll still be priests to explain the law, there'll still be wise people to give advice, and there'll still be prophets to give prophecies. Let's organize a smear campaign against him so we don't have to listen to a word he says.”
19 Give heed to me, O Lord, and hear the voice of my adversaries.
Lord, please pay attention to what's happening to me! Listen to what my accusers are saying!
20 Shall evil be rendered for good, because they have digged a pit for my soul? Remember that I have stood in thy sight, so speak good for them, and turn away thy indignation from them.
Should good be paid back with evil? Yet they have dug a pit to trap me! Remember how I stood before you to plead on their behalf, to stop you being angry with them?
21 Therefore deliver up their children to famine, and bring them into the hands of the sword: let their wives be bereaved of children and widows: and let their husbands be slain by death: let their young men be stabbed with the sword in battle.
But now may their children starve; may they be killed by the sword. May their wives lose their children and their husbands; may their husbands die from disease; may their young men be killed in battle.
22 Let a cry be heard out of their houses: for thou shalt bring the robber upon them suddenly: because they have digged a pit to take me, and have hid snares for my feet.
May cries of agony be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring invaders to attack them, because they dug a pit to capture me and hid traps to catch me as I walk along.
23 But thou, O Lord, knowest all their counsel against me unto death: forgive not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from thy sight: let them be overthrown before thy eyes, in the time of thy wrath do thou destroy them.
But Lord, you know about all their plots to try and kill me. Don't forgive their wickedness; don't wipe away their sin. Bring them down! Deal with them when you're angry!
