1 The worde which came to Ieremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Arise, and go downe into the potters house, and there shall I shewe thee my words. 3 Then I went downe to the potters house, and behold, he wrought a worke on the wheeles. 4 And the vessell that he made of clay, was broken in the hand of the potter. so he returned, and made it another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 5 Then the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying, 6 O house of Israel, cannot I doe with you as this potter, sayth the Lord? beholde, as the clay is in the potters hande, so are you in mine hande, O house of Israel. 7 I will speake suddenly against a nation or against a kingdome to plucke it vp, and to roote it out and to destroy it. 8 But if this nation, against whom I haue pronounced, turne from their wickednesse, I will repent of the plague that I thought to bring vpon them. 9 And I wil speake suddenly concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdome to builde it and to plant it. 10 But if it do euill in my sight and heare not my voyce, I will repent of ye good that I thought to do for them. 11 Speake thou nowe therefore vnto the men of Iudah, and to the inhabitants of Ierusalem, saying, Thus saith ye Lord, Behold, I prepare a plague for you, and purpose a thing against you: returne you therefore euery one from his euill way, and make your wayes and your workes good. 12 But they sayde desperately, Surely wee will walke after our owne imaginations, and doe euery man after the stubburnnesse of his wicked heart. 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Aske now among the heathen, who hath heard such thinges? the virgin of Israel hath done very filthily. 14 Will a man forsake the snowe of Lebanon, which commeth from the rocke of the fielde? or shall the colde flowing waters, that come from another place, be forsaken? 15 Because my people hath forgotten me, and haue burnt incense to vanitie, and their prophets haue caused them to stumble in their wayes from the auncient wayes, to walke in the pathes and way that is not troden, 16 To make their land desolate and a perpetual derision, so that euery one that passeth thereby, shalbe astonished and wagge his head, 17 I will scatter them with an East winde before the enemie: I will shewe them the backe, and not the face in the day of their destruction. 18 Then sayde they, Come, and let vs imagine some deuice against Ieremiah: for the Lawe shall not perish from the Priest, nor counsell from the wise, nor the worde from the Prophet: come, and let vs smite him with the tongue, and let vs not giue heede to any of his words. 19 Hearken vnto mee, O Lord, and heare the voyce of them that contend with me. 20 Shall euill be recompensed for good? for they haue digged a pit for my soule: remember that I stood before thee, to speake good for the, and to turne away thy wrath from them. 21 Therefore, deliuer vp their children to famine, and let them drop away by the force of the sworde, and let their wiues be robbed of their children, and be widowes: and let their husbands be put to death, and let their yong men be slayne by the sword in the battell. 22 Let the crye bee heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring an hoste suddenly vpon them: for they haue digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feete. 23 Yet Lord thou knowest al their counsel against me tendeth to death: forgiue not their iniquitie, neither put out their sinne from thy sight, but let them be ouerthrowen before thee: deale thus with them in the time of thine anger.
Jeremiah at the Potter's House
1 The Lord said to me, 2 “Go down to the potter's house, where I will give you my message.” 3 So I went there and saw the potter working at his wheel. 4 Whenever a piece of pottery turned out imperfect, he would take the clay and make it into something else.
5 Then the Lord said to me, 6 “Don't I have the right to do with you people of Israel what the potter did with the clay? You are in my hands just like clay in the potter's hands. 7 If at any time I say that I am going to uproot, break down, or destroy any nation or kingdom, 8 but then that nation turns from its evil, I will not do what I said I would. 9 On the other hand, if I say that I am going to plant or build up any nation or kingdom, 10 but then that nation disobeys me and does evil, I will not do what I said I would. 11 Now then, tell the people of Judah and of Jerusalem that I am making plans against them and getting ready to punish them. Tell them to stop living sinful lives—to change their ways and the things they are doing. 12 They will answer, ‘No, why should we? We will all be just as stubborn and evil as we want to be.’”
The People Reject the Lord
13 The Lord says,
“Ask every nation if such a thing
has ever happened before.
The people of Israel have done a terrible thing!
14 Are Lebanon's rocky heights ever without snow?
Do its cool mountain streams ever run dry?
15 Yet my people have forgotten me;
they burn incense to idols.
They have stumbled in the way they should go;
they no longer follow the old ways;
they walk on unmarked paths.
16 They have made this land a thing of horror,
to be despised forever.
All who pass by will be shocked at what they see;
they will shake their heads in amazement.
17 I will scatter my people before their enemies,
like dust blown by the east wind.
I will turn my back on them;
I will not help them when the disaster comes.”
A Plot against Jeremiah
18 Then the people said, “Let's do something about Jeremiah! There will always be priests to instruct us, the wise to give us counsel, and prophets to proclaim God's message. Let's bring charges against him and stop listening to what he says.”
19 So I prayed, “Lord, hear what I am saying and listen to what my enemies are saying about me. 20 Is evil the payment for good? Yet they have dug a pit for me to fall in. Remember how I came to you and spoke on their behalf, so that you would not deal with them in anger. 21 But now, Lord, let their children starve to death; let them be killed in war. Let the women lose their husbands and children; let the men die of disease and the young men be killed in battle. 22 Send a mob to plunder their homes without warning; make them cry out in terror. They have dug a pit for me to fall in and have set traps to catch me. 23 But, Lord, you know all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their evil or pardon their sin. Throw them down in defeat and deal with them while you are angry.”