Jeremiah 18
1 This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
The word that came from the Lord to
2 Go down right away to the potter's house. I will give you my message there.
Jeremias, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there you shall hear my words.
3 I went down to the potter's house and saw him working at his potter's wheel.
So I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he was making a vessel on the stones.
4 But the pot that he was making from the clay went wrong. So he made it into something different as he thought best.
And the vessel which he was making with his hands fell: so he made it again another vessel, as it seemed good to him to make [it].
5 The Lord's message came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
6 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.
Shall I not be able, O house of Israel, to do to you as this potter? behold, as the clay of the potter are you in my hands.
7 At one time it could happen that I announce that a nation or a kingdom is going to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed.
[If] I shall pronounce a decree upon a nation, or upon a kingdom, to cut them off, and to destroy [them];
8 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.
and that nation turn from all their sins, then will I repent of the evils which I purposed to do to them.
9 At another time I could announce that I'm going to build up and give power to a nation or a kingdom.
And [if] I shall pronounce a decree upon a nation and kingdom, to rebuild and to plant [it];
10 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.
and they do evil before me, so as not to listen to my voice, then will I repent of the good which I spoke of, to do it to them.
11 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!
And now say to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Behold, I prepare evils against you, and devise a device against you: let every one turn now from his evil way, and amend your practices.
12 But they'll say, “We just can't! We'll do whatever we want. Each of us will stubbornly follow our own evil thinking.”
And they said, We will quit ourselves like men, for we will pursue our perverse ways, and we will perform each the lusts of his evil heart.
13 Consequently this is what the Lord says: Ask around the nations—has anybody ever heard anything like this? Virgin Israel has acted really badly.
Therefore thus says the Lord; Enquire now amongst the nations, who has heard such very horrible things as the virgin of Israel has done?
14 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?
Will fertilising streams fail [to flow] from a rock, or snow [fail] from Libanus? will water violently impelled by the wind turn aside?
15 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.
For my people have forgotten me, they have offered incense in vain, and they fail in their ways, [leaving] the ancient tracks, to enter upon impassable paths;
16 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.
to make their land a desolation, and a perpetual hissing; all that go through it shall be amazed, and shall shake their heads.
17 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.
I will scatter them before their enemies like an east wind; I will show them the day of their destruction.
18 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.”
Then they said, Come, and let us devise a device 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 we will hear all his words.
19 Lord, please pay attention to what's happening to me! Listen to what my accusers are saying!
Hear me, O Lord, and hear the voice of my pleading.
20 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?
Forasmuch as evil is rewarded for good; for they have spoken words against my soul, and they have hidden the punishment they [meant] for me; remember that I stood before your face, to speak good for them, to turn away your wrath from them.
21 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.
Therefore do you deliver their sons to famine, and gather them to the power of the sword: let their women be childless and widows; and let their men be cut off by death, and their young men fall by the sword in war.
22 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.
Let there be a cry in their houses: you shall bring upon them robbers suddenly: for they have formed a plan to take me, and have hidden snares for me.
23 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!
And you, Lord, know all their deadly counsel against me: account not their iniquities guiltless, and blot not out their sins from before you: let their weakness come before you; deal with them in the time of your wrath.
