| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 1The LORD said to Jeremiah: | 1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: |
| 2"Go down at once to the potter's house. I will speak to you further there." | 2"Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." |
| 3So I went down to the potter's house and found him working at his wheel. | 3So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. |
| 4Now and then there would be something wrong with the pot he was molding from the clay with his hands. So he would rework the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit. | 4But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. |
| 5Then the LORD said to me, | 5Then the word of the LORD came to me. |
| 6"I, the LORD, say: 'O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter's hand.' | 6He said, "Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. |
| 7There are times, Jeremiah, when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom. | 7If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, |
| 8But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, I will cancel the destruction I intended to do to it. | 8and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. |
| 9And there are times when I promise to build up and establish a nation or kingdom. | 9And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, |
| 10But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it. | 10and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it. |
| 11So now, tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem this: The LORD says, 'I am preparing to bring disaster on you! I am making plans to punish you. So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing. Correct the way you have been living and do what is right.' | 11"Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, 'This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.' |
| 12But they just keep saying, 'We do not care what you say! We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!'" | 12But they will reply, 'It's no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.'" |
| 13Therefore, the LORD says, "Ask the people of other nations whether they have heard of anything like this. Israel should have been like a virgin. But she has done something utterly revolting! | 13Therefore this is what the LORD says: "Inquire among the nations: Who has ever heard anything like this? A most horrible thing has been done by Virgin Israel. |
| 14Does the snow ever completely vanish from the rocky slopes of Lebanon? Do the cool waters from those distant mountains ever cease to flow? | 14Does the snow of Lebanon ever vanish from its rocky slopes? Do its cool waters from distant sources ever stop flowing? |
| 15Yet my people have forgotten me and offered sacrifices to worthless idols! This makes them stumble along in the way they live and leave the old reliable path of their fathers. They have left them to walk in bypaths, in roads that are not smooth and level. | 15Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols, which made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths. They made them walk in byways, on roads not built up. |
| 16So their land will become an object of horror. People will forever hiss out their scorn over it. All who pass that way will be filled with horror and will shake their heads in derision. | 16Their land will be an object of horror and of lasting scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads. |
| 17I will scatter them before their enemies like dust blowing in front of a burning east wind. I will turn my back on them and not look favorably on them when disaster strikes them." | 17Like a wind from the east, I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their disaster." |
| 18Then some people said, "Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God's word. Come on! Let's bring charges against him and get rid of him! Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says." | 18They said, "Come, let's make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let's attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says." |
| 19Then I said, "LORD, pay attention to me. Listen to what my enemies are saying. | 19Listen to me, LORD; hear what my accusers are saying! |
| 20Should good be paid back with evil? Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me. Just remember how I stood before you pleading on their behalf to keep you from venting your anger on them. | 20Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember that I stood before you and spoke in their behalf to turn your wrath away from them. |
| 21So let their children die of starvation. Let them be cut down by the sword. Let their wives lose their husbands and children. Let the older men die of disease and the younger men die by the sword in battle. | 21So give their children over to famine; hand them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives be made childless and widows; let their men be put to death, their young men slain by the sword in battle. |
| 22Let cries of terror be heard in their houses when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them. For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me and have hidden traps for me to step into. | 22Let a cry be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring invaders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet. |
| 23But you, LORD, know all their plots to kill me. Do not pardon their crimes! Do not ignore their sins as though you had erased them! Let them be brought down in defeat before you! Deal with them while you are still angry! | 23But you, LORD, know all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their crimes or blot out their sins from your sight. Let them be overthrown before you; deal with them in the time of your anger. |
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