| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: | 1The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, |
| 2“Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” | 2“Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” |
| 3So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. | 3So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. |
| 4And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. | 4But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. |
| 5Then the word of the LORD came to me: | 5Then the LORD gave me this message: |
| 6“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. | 6“O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. |
| 7If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, | 7If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, |
| 8and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. | 8but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. |
| 9And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, | 9And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, |
| 10and 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. | 10but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would. |
| 11Now, 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. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’ | 11“Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’” |
| 12“But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’ | 12But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires.” |
| 13“Therefore thus says the LORD: Ask among the nations, Who has heard the like of this? The virgin Israel has done a very horrible thing. | 13So this is what the LORD says: “Has anyone ever heard of such a thing, even among the pagan nations? My virgin daughter Israel has done something terrible! |
| 14Does the snow of Lebanon leave the crags of Sirion? Do the mountain waters run dry, the cold flowing streams? | 14Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon? Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry? |
| 15But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to false gods; they made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient roads, and to walk into side roads, not the highway, | 15But my people are not so reliable, for they have deserted me; they burn incense to worthless idols. They have stumbled off the ancient highways and walk in muddy paths. |
| 16making their land a horror, a thing to be hissed at forever. Everyone who passes by it is horrified and shakes his head. | 16Therefore, their land will become desolate, a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and will shake their heads in amazement. |
| 17Like the east wind I will scatter them before the enemy. I will show them my back, not my face, in the day of their calamity.” | 17I will scatter my people before their enemies as the east wind scatters dust. And in all their trouble I will turn my back on them and refuse to notice their distress.” A Plot against Jeremiah |
| 18Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.” | 18Then the people said, “Come on, let’s plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread rumors about him and ignore what he says.” |
| 19Hear me, O LORD, and listen to the voice of my adversaries. | 19LORD, hear me and help me! Listen to what my enemies are saying. |
| 20Should 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. | 20Should they repay evil for good? They have dug a pit to kill me, though I pleaded for them and tried to protect them from your anger. |
| 21Therefore deliver up their children to famine; give them over to the power of the sword; let their wives become childless and widowed. May their men meet death by pestilence, their youths be struck down by the sword in battle. | 21So let their children starve! Let them die by the sword! Let their wives become childless widows. Let their old men die in a plague, and let their young men be killed in battle! |
| 22May a cry be heard from their houses, when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them! For they have dug a pit to take me and laid snares for my feet. | 22Let screaming be heard from their homes as warriors come suddenly upon them. For they have dug a pit for me and have hidden traps along my path. |
| 23Yet you, O LORD, know all their plotting to kill me. 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. | 23LORD, you know all about their murderous plots against me. Don’t forgive their crimes and blot out their sins. Let them die before you. Deal with them in your anger. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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