Jeremiah 18

1 The word that came unto Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying:

The word that came from Jeremias to the Lord, saying:

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

Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there thou shalt hear my words.

3 So I went down, to the house of the potter, —and there he was! making a piece of work on the wheels,

And I went down into the potter’s house, and behold he was doing a work on the wheel.

4 Then was marred, the vessel that he was making, while yet it was clay in the hand of the potter, —so he turned and made of it another vessel, as seemed right in the eyes of the potter to make it.

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.

5 Then came the word of Yahweh unto me, saying:

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

6 Like this potter, can I not deal with you O house of Israel? Demandeth Yahweh: Lo! as clay in the hand of the potter, So, are, ye, in my hand O house of Israel.

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.

7 The moment I speak, concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom, —to pull up and to break down, and to destroy;

I will suddenly speak against a nation, and against a kingdom, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy it.

8 and that nation return from its wickedness against whom I have spoken, then will I repent concerning the calamity which I had devised to bring upon it.

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.

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

And I will suddenly speak of a nation and of a kingdom, to build up and plant it.

10 and it commit wickedness in mine eyes, in not hearkening unto my voice, then will I repent concerning the good wherewith I had said I would do it good.

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.

11 Now, therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the men of Judah and concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, Thus, saith Yahweh, —Lo! I am fashioning against you calamity, and devising against you, a device, —Return I pray you every man from his wicked way, And amend your ways and your doings.

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.

12 And, since they will say, Hopeless! For after our own devices, will we walk, And, every one, the stubbornness of his own wicked heart, will we do!

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.

13 Therefore, Thus saith Yahweh, Ask I pray you among the nations, —Who hath heard such things as these? A very horrible thing, hath, the virgin, Israel done!

Therefore thus saith the Lord: Ask among the nations: Who hath heard such horrible things, as the virgin of Israel hath done to excess?

14 Shall the snow of Lebanon, fail from the rock of the field? Or shall waters from afar, deep, overflowing, be dried up?

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?

15 Yet my people have forgotten me, Unto vanity, have they been burning incense; And it hath caused them to stumble In their ways The roads of age-past times, To walk in by-paths—A way not cast up.

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:

16 To make their land a desolation The hissings of age-abiding times, —Every one that passeth by her, shall be astonished and wag his head.

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.

17 Like an east wind, will I scatter them before the enemy, —The back and not the face, will I let them see in the day of their distress.

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.

18 Then said they, —Come ye and let us devise against Jeremiah devices, For the law shall not perish from the priest, Nor, counsel, from the wise, Nor, the word from the prophet: Come and let as smite him with the tongue, And let us not give ear to any of his words!

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.

19 Give thou ear O Yahweh unto me, —And hearken unto the voice of mine accusers.

Give heed to me, O Lord, and hear the voice of my adversaries.

20 Shall, evil, be recompensed for good? For they have digged a pit for my life, —Remember how I stood before thee To speak in their behalf what was good! To turn back thine indignation from them.

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.

21 Therefore, give thou up their sons to the famine And deliver them into the hands of the sword, And let their, wives, become, childless and widows, And let, their men, be slain by death, Their young men be smitten by the sword in battle.

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.

22 Let there be heard a cry out of their houses, When thou shalt bring in upon them a troop, suddenly, —Because they digged a pit to capture me, And snares, did they hide for my feet.

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.

23 But, thou, O Yahweh, knowest all their counsels against me to put me to death, Put thou no propitiatory-covering over their iniquity, And their sin from before thee, do not thou blot out, —But let them be overthrown before thee, In the time of thine anger, deal thou effectively with them.

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.