| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, | 1The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, |
| 2Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. | 2“Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” |
| 3Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. | 3So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. |
| 4And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. | 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, saying, | 5Then the LORD gave me this message: |
| 6O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine 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. |
| 7At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; | 7If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, |
| 8If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. | 8but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. |
| 9And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; | 9And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, |
| 10If 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. | 10but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would. |
| 11Now 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: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. | 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.’” |
| 12And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination 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.” |
| 13Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath 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! |
| 14Will a man leave 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? | 14Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon? Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry? |
| 15Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up; | 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. |
| 16To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag 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. |
| 17I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the 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 said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for 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 with the tongue, and let us not give heed 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.” |
| 19Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. | 19LORD, hear me and help me! Listen to what my enemies are saying. |
| 20Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they 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. | 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 the famine, and 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. | 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! |
| 22Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid 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, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive 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. | 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. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | 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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