1 The parable of potter and clay
1 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 thee to hear my words.
3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on the [a]wheels.
4 And the vessel [b]that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he [c]made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
6 O house of Israel, Is. 45:9;Rom. 9:20cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, Is. 64:8as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to ch. 1:10pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
8 Ezek. 18:21;& 33:11If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, ch. 26:3;Jonah 3:10I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
11 Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: 2 Ki. 17:13;ch. 7:3return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.
12 And they said, ch. 2:25There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord; ch. 2:10;1 Cor. 5:1Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done ch. 5:30a very horrible thing.
14 Will a man leave [d]the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?
15 Because my people hath forgotten ch. 2:13,32me, they have burnt incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ch. 6:16ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;
16 To make their land ch. 19:8desolate, and a perpetual 1 Ki. 9:8;Lam. 2:15;Mic. 6:16hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.
17 ch. 13:24I will scatter them Ps. 48:7as with an east wind before the enemy; See ch. 2:27I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
18 Then said they, ch. 11:19Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; Lev. 10:11;Mal. 2:7;John 7:48for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him [e]with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.
19 Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.
20 Ps. 109:4Shall evil be recompensed for good? for ver. 22;Ps. 35:7they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.
21 Therefore Ps. 109:9deliver up their children to the famine, and [f]pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for ver. 20they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.
23 Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me [g]to slay me: Ps. 35:4;& 109:14;ch. 11:20forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.
