The Potter and the Clay

Jeremiah 18

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 "Arise, and go down to q the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." 3 So I went down to r the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was s spoiled in the potter's hand, and t he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 "O house of Israel, u can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. v Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will w pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, x turns from its evil, y I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will w build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 'Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. z Return, every one from his evil way, and a amend your ways and your deeds.'

12 "But they say, b 'That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to c the stubbornness of his evil heart.'

13 "Therefore thus says the Lord:
d Ask among the nations,
Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel
has done e a very horrible thing.
 14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave
the crags of Sirion? 1
Do the mountain waters run dry, 2
the cold flowing streams?
 15 f But my people have forgotten me;
they make offerings to g false gods;
they made them stumble in their ways,
h in the ancient roads,
and to walk into side roads,
i not the highway,
 16 making their land j a horror,
a thing j to be hissed at forever.
k Everyone who passes by it is horrified
l and shakes his head.
 17 m Like the east wind n I will scatter them
before the enemy.
o I will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their calamity."

18 Then they said, p "Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, q for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. r Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words."

19 Hear me, O Lord,
and s listen to the voice of my adversaries.
 20 t Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet u they have dug a pit for my life.
v Remember how I stood before you
to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.
 21 Therefore w deliver up their children to famine;
give them over to the power of the sword;
let their wives become childless x and widowed.
May their men meet death by pestilence,
their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
 22 y May a cry be heard from their houses,
when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!
For u they have dug a pit to take me
z and laid snares for my feet.
 23 Yet a you, O Lord, know
all their plotting to kill me.
b Forgive not their iniquity,
nor blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.

  1. Cross References
    Jeremiah 19:1
    Thus says the Lord, "Go, buy a potter's earthenware flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests.
    1 Chronicles 4:23
    These were the potters who were inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the king's service.
    Zechariah 11:13
    Then the Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter" - the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.
  2. Cross References
    Jeremiah 19:1
    Thus says the Lord, "Go, buy a potter's earthenware flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests.
    1 Chronicles 4:23
    These were the potters who were inhabitants of Netaim and Gederah. They lived there in the king's service.
    Zechariah 11:13
    Then the Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter" - the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 13:7
    Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing.
  4. Cross References
    Romans 9:21
    Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
  5. Cross References
    Isaiah 45:9
    Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles'?
    Romans 9:20 - 24
    But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?
  6. Cross References
    Job 10:9
    Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust?
    Isaiah 64:8
    But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
  7. Cross References
    Jeremiah 1:10
    See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.
    Jeremiah 42:10
    If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you.
  8. Cross References
    Ezekiel 18:21
    But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 26:3
    It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.
    Jeremiah 26:13
    Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you.
    Jeremiah 26:19
    Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord, and did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves.
    Judges 2:18
    Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.
    Jonah 3:10
    When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
  10. Cross References
    Jeremiah 18:7
    If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it.
  11. Cross References
    Jeremiah 35:15
    I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, 'Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.' But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.
    2 Kings 17:13
    Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
    Jonah 3:8
    But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:3
    Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place.
    Jeremiah 25:5
    Saying, 'Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever.
    Jeremiah 35:15
    I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, 'Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.' But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.
  13. Cross References
    Jeremiah 2:25
    Keep your feet from going unshod and your throat from thirst. But you said, 'It is hopeless, for I have loved foreigners, and after them I will go.
  14. Cross References
    Jeremiah 3:17
    At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 2:10 - 11
    For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing.
  16. Cross References
    Jeremiah 5:30
    An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land:
  17. Cross References
    Jeremiah 2:13
    For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
    Jeremiah 2:32
    Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
    Jeremiah 17:13
    O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.
  18. Cross References
    Jeremiah 2:5
    Thus says the Lord : "What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
    Jeremiah 10:15
    They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
    Jeremiah 16:19
    O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: "Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:16
    Thus says the Lord : "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.
  20. Cross References
    Isaiah 57:14
    And it shall be said, "Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people's way.
  21. Cross References
    Jeremiah 19:8
    And I will make this city a horror, a thing to ...
    Jeremiah 25:9
    Behold, I will send for all the tribes of the n...
    Jeremiah 25:11
    This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste...
    Jeremiah 25:18
    Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings an...
    Jeremiah 49:13
    For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, ...
    Jeremiah 49:17
    Edom shall become a horror. Everyone who passes...
    Jeremiah 50:13
    Because of the wrath of the Lord she shall not ...
    Jeremiah 51:37
    And Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the h...
    2 Chronicles 29:8
    Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah a...
  22. Cross References
    Jeremiah 19:8
    And I will make this city a horror, a thing to ...
    Jeremiah 25:9
    Behold, I will send for all the tribes of the n...
    Jeremiah 25:11
    This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste...
    Jeremiah 25:18
    Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings an...
    Jeremiah 49:13
    For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, ...
    Jeremiah 49:17
    Edom shall become a horror. Everyone who passes...
    Jeremiah 50:13
    Because of the wrath of the Lord she shall not ...
    Jeremiah 51:37
    And Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, the h...
    2 Chronicles 29:8
    Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah a...
  23. Cross References
    Jeremiah 50:13
    Because of the wrath of the Lord she shall not be inhabited but shall be an utter desolation; everyone who passes by Babylon shall be appalled, and hiss because of all her wounds.
    Lamentations 2:15
    All who pass along the way clap their hands at you; they hiss and wag their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem: "Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?
  24. Cross References
    Job 16:4
    I also could speak as you do, if you were in my place; I could join words together against you and shake my head at you.
    Psalms 22:7
    All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads.
    Matthew 27:39
    And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads
  25. Cross References
    Genesis 41:6
    And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thi...
    Genesis 41:23
    Seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the...
    Genesis 41:27
    The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after...
    Exodus 10:13
    So Moses stretched out his staff over the land ...
    Job 27:21
    The east wind lifts him up and he is gone; it s...
    Psalms 48:7
    By the east wind you shattered the ships of Tar...
    Ezekiel 27:26
    Your rowers have brought you out into the high ...
    Hosea 13:15
    Though he may flourish among his brothers, the ...
    Jonah 4:8
    When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching ea...
  26. Cross References
    Jeremiah 13:24
    I will scatter you like chaff driven by the wind from the desert.
  27. Cross References
    Jeremiah 2:27
    Who say to a tree, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You gave me birth.' For they have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they say, 'Arise and save us!
  28. Cross References
    Jeremiah 11:19
    But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I did not know it was against me they devised schemes, saying, "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.
  29. Cross References
    Jeremiah 2:8
    The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord ?' Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.
    Jeremiah 5:13
    The prophets will become wind; the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them!'
    Jeremiah 5:31
    The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?
    Jeremiah 6:13
    For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely.
  30. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:3
    They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord.
    Jeremiah 9:8
    Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully; with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he plans an ambush for him.
    Job 5:21
    You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes.
    Psalms 31:20
    In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues.
  31. Cross References
    Psalms 35:1
    Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me!
    Isaiah 49:25
    For thus says the Lord : "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.
  32. Cross References
    Psalms 35:12
    They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft.
  33. Cross References
    Psalms 35:7
    For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life.
    Psalms 57:6
    They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
    Psalms 119:85
    The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; they do not live according to your law.
  34. Cross References
    Nehemiah 13:14
    Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.
  35. Cross References
    Psalms 109:10
    May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
  36. Cross References
    Psalms 109:9
    May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!
  37. Cross References
    Jeremiah 20:16
    Let that man be like the cities that the Lord overthrew without pity; let him hear a cry in the morning and an alarm at noon.
  38. Cross References
    Jeremiah 18:20
    Should good be repaid with evil? 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.
  39. Cross References
    Psalms 140:5
    The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net; beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah
  40. Cross References
    Psalms 35:22
    You have seen, O Lord ; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me!
  41. Cross References
    Nehemiah 4:5
    Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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