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Jeremiah Goes to the Pottery Shop

18 The Lord told me, “Jeremiah, go to the pottery shop, and when you get there, I will tell you what to say to the people.”

I went there and saw the potter making clay pots on his pottery wheel. And whenever the clay would not take the shape he wanted, he would change his mind and form it into some other shape.

Then the Lord told me to say:

People of Israel, I, the Lord, have power over you, just as a potter has power over clay. If I threaten to uproot and shatter an evil nation, and that nation turns from its evil, I will change my mind.

If I promise to make a nation strong, 10 but its people start disobeying me and doing evil, then I will change my mind and not help them at all.

11 So listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem! I have decided to strike you with disaster, and I won't change my mind unless you stop sinning and start living right.

12 But I know you won't listen. You might as well answer, “We don't care what you say. We have made plans to sin, and we are going to be stubborn and do as we please!”

13 So I, the Lord, command you to ask the nations, and find out if they have ever heard of such a horrible sin as what you have done.

14 The snow
on Lebanon's mountains
    never melts away,
and the streams there
    never run dry.[a]
15 But you, my people,
    have turned from me
to burn incense
    to worthless idols.
You have left the ancient road
to follow an unknown path
    where you stumble over idols.

16 Your land will be ruined,
    and every passerby
will look at it with horror
    and make insulting remarks.
17 When your enemies attack,
I will scatter you like dust
    blown by an eastern wind.
Then, on that day of disaster,
    I will turn my back on you.

The Plot against Jeremiah

18 Some of the people said, “Let's get rid of Jeremiah! We will always have priests to teach us God's laws, as well as wise people to give us advice, and prophets to speak the Lord's messages. So, instead of listening to Jeremiah any longer, let's accuse him of a crime.”

Jeremiah Prays about His Enemies

19 Please, Lord, answer my prayer.
Make my enemies stop
    accusing me of evil.
20 I tried to help them,
but they are paying me back
    by digging a pit to trap me.
I even begged you
    not to punish them.
21 But now I am asking you
to let their children starve
    or be killed in war.
Let women lose
their husbands and sons
    to disease and violence.
22 These people have dug pits
    and set traps for me, Lord.
Make them scream in fear
when you send enemy troops
    to attack their homes.
23 You know they plan to kill me.
    So get angry and punish them!
Don't ever forgive
    their terrible crimes.

Jeremiah and the Clay Jar

19 The Lord said:

Jeremiah, go to the pottery shop and buy a clay jar. Then take along some of the city officials and leading priests (A) and go to Hinnom Valley, just outside Potsherd[b] Gate. Tell the people that I have said:

I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, and you kings of Judah and you people of Jerusalem had better pay attention. I am going to bring so much trouble on this valley that everyone who hears about it will be shocked. 4-5 (B) The people of Judah stopped worshiping me and made this valley into a place of worship for Baal and other gods that have never helped them or their ancestors or their kings. And they have committed murder here, burning their young, innocent children as sacrifices to Baal. I have never even thought of telling you to do that. So watch out! Someday this place will no longer be called Topheth or Hinnom Valley. It will be called Slaughter Valley!

You people of Judah and Jerusalem may have big plans, but here in this valley I'll ruin[c] those plans. I'll let your enemies kill you, and I'll tell the birds and wild animals to eat your dead bodies. I will turn Jerusalem into a pile of rubble, and every passerby will be shocked and horrified and will make insulting remarks. And while your enemies are trying to break through your city walls to kill you, the food supply will run out. You will become so hungry that you will eat the flesh of your friends and even of your own children.

10 Jeremiah, as soon as you have said this, smash the jar while the people are watching. 11 Then tell them that I have also said:

I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I warn you that I will shatter Judah and Jerusalem just like this jar that is broken beyond repair. You will bury your dead here in Topheth, but so many of you will die that there won't be enough room.

12-13 I will make Jerusalem as unclean as Topheth, by filling the city with your dead bodies. I will do this because you and your kings have gone up to the roofs of your houses and burned incense to the stars in the sky, as though they were gods. And you have given sacrifices of wine to foreign gods.

Jeremiah Speaks in the Temple Courtyard

14 I went to Topheth, where I told the people what the Lord had said. Then I went to the temple courtyard and shouted to the people, 15 “Listen, everyone! Some time ago, the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, warned you that he would bring disaster on Jerusalem and all nearby villages. But you were stubborn and refused to listen. Now the Lord is going to bring the disaster he promised.”

Footnotes

  1. 18.14 dry: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
  2. 19.2 Potsherd: A piece of broken pottery.
  3. 19.7 ruin: In Hebrew “ruin” sounds like “jar” (see verse 1).

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