Jeremiah 18 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

The Potter and the Clay

18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. 9 And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.

Israel’s Stubborn Idolatry

12 But they say, “It is no use! We will follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of our evil will.”

13 Therefore thus says the Lord:
Ask among the nations:
Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel has done
a most horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave
the crags of Sirion?[a]
Do the mountain[b] waters run dry,[c]
the cold flowing streams?
15 But my people have forgotten me,
they burn offerings to a delusion;
they have stumbled[d] in their ways,
in the ancient roads,
and have gone into bypaths,
not the highway,
16 making their land a horror,
a thing to be hissed at forever.
All who pass by it are horrified
and shake their heads.
17 Like the wind from the east,
I will scatter them before the enemy.
I will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their calamity.

A Plot against Jeremiah

18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah—for instruction shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us bring charges against him,[e] and let us not heed any of his words.”

19 Give heed to me, O Lord,
and listen to what my adversaries say!
20 Is evil a recompense for good?
Yet they have dug a pit for my life.
Remember how I stood before you
to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.
21 Therefore give their children over to famine;
hurl them out to the power of the sword,
let their wives become childless and widowed.
May their men meet death by pestilence,
their youths be slain by the sword in battle.
22 May a cry be heard from their houses,
when you bring the marauder suddenly upon them!
For they have dug a pit to catch me,
and laid snares for my feet.
23 Yet you, O Lord, know
all their plotting to kill me.
Do not forgive their iniquity,
do not blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be tripped up before you;
deal with them while you are angry.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 18:14 Cn: Heb of the field
  2. Jeremiah 18:14 Cn: Heb foreign
  3. Jeremiah 18:14 Cn: Heb Are . . . plucked up?
  4. Jeremiah 18:15 Gk Syr Vg: Heb they made them stumble
  5. Jeremiah 18:18 Heb strike him with the tongue

You Might Also Like:

Jeremiah 18 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

18 The word that hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, 2 Rise, and thou hast gone down [to] the potter's house, and there I cause thee to hear My words; 3 and I go down [to] the potter's house, and lo, he is doing a work on the stones, 4 and marred is the vessel that he is making, as clay in...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

18 The word that was made of the Lord to Jeremy, and said, (The word of the Lord that was made to Jeremiah, and said,) 2 Rise thou, and go down into the house of a potter, and there thou shalt hear my words. 3 And I went down into the house of a potter, and lo! he made a work on a wheel. 4 And the v...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - World English Bible (WEB)

18 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear my words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he was making something on the wheels. 4 When the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in t...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - The Voice (VOICE)

18 The word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah. Now God’s message comes through another prophetic drama played out in a potter’s shop somewhere in the city. The prophet sees an ordinary event but receives an extraordinary message.Eternal One: 2 Go down to the potter’s shop in the city, and wait for My ...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

The Potter’s House18 The word came to Jeremiah from Adonai, saying: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was making a work on the wheels. 4 Whenever the pot that he was making from the clay b...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Potter and the Clay18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the po...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Potter and the Clay18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the po...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Potter and the Clay18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 ‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s ha...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Potter and the Clay18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.”(A)3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s han...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - New Living Translation (NLT)

The Potter and the Clay18 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lum...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - New Life Version (NLV)

The Pot-Maker and the Clay18 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, 2 “Go down to the pot-maker’s house, and there I will let you hear My words.” 3 So I went down to the pot-maker’s house, and saw him making one on the wheel. 4 But the pot he was making of clay did not come out lik...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - New King James Version (NKJV)

The Potter and the Clay18 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: 2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the [a]wheel. 4 And the vessel that he [b]made...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

At the potter’s house18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’ 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - New International Version (NIV)

At the Potter’s House18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so th...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

The Lord Sends Jeremiah to the Potter’s House18 A message from the Lord came to me. He said, 2 “Jeremiah, go down to the potter’s house. I will give you my message there.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house. I saw him working at his wheel. 4 His hands were shaping a pot out of clay. But he sa...
Read More

Jeremiah 18 - New English Translation (NET)

An Object Lesson from the Making of Pottery18 The Lord said to Jeremiah:[a] 2 “Go down at once[b] to the potter’s house. I will speak to you further there.”[c] 3 So I went down to the potter’s house and found him working[d] at his wheel.[e] 4 Now and then[f] there would be something wrong[g] with...
Read More