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18 This word came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai: “Get up, and go down to the potter’s house; there I will tell you more.” So I went down to the house of the potter; and there he was, working at the wheels. Whenever a pot he made came out imperfect, the potter took the clay and made another pot with it, in whatever shape suited him.

Then the word of Adonai came to me: “House of Isra’el, can’t I deal with you as the potter deals with his clay? — says Adonai. Look! You, house of Isra’el, are the same in my hand as the clay in the potter’s hand. At one time, I may speak about uprooting, breaking down and destroying a nation or kingdom; but if that nation turns from their evil, which prompted me to speak against it, then I relent concerning the disaster I had planned to inflict on it. Similarly, at another time, I may speak about building and planting a nation or kingdom; 10 but if it behaves wickedly from my perspective and doesn’t listen to what I say, then I change my mind and don’t do the good I said I would do that would have helped it.

11 “So now, tell the people of Y’hudah and those living in Yerushalayim that this is what Adonai says:

‘I am designing disaster for you,
working out my plan against you.
Turn, each of you, from his evil ways;
improve your conduct and actions.’

12 “But they will answer, ‘It’s hopeless!
We will stick to our own plans;
each of us will stubbornly follow
his own evil desires!’

13 “Therefore, Adonai says this:
‘Ask among the nations
who has heard anything like this.
The virgin Isra’el has done
a most horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of the L’vanon
disappear from the mountain crags?
Do the cold waters of foreign lands
ever run dry?
15 No, but my people have forgotten me
and offer incense to nothings.
This causes them to stumble
as they walk the ancient paths;
they leave the highway
to walk on side-trails.
16 Thus they make their land an object of horror
and ongoing ridicule.
Passers-by shake their heads,
appalled, every one.
17 Like a strong east wind, I will scatter them
before the enemy.
I will see their back, not their face,
on their day of disaster.’”

18 Then they said, “Let’s develop a plan for dealing with Yirmeyahu. Torah won’t be lost from the cohanim, or counsel from the wise, or words from the prophets. So come, let’s destroy him with slander; and meanwhile, we won’t pay attention to anything he says.”

19 Pay attention to me, Adonai!
Listen to what my opponents are saying!
20 Is good to be repaid with evil?
For they have dug a pit [to trap] me.
Remember how I stood before you
and spoke well of them,
in order to turn your anger
away from them?
21 Therefore, hand their sons over to famine,
hurl them into the power of the sword,
let their wives be made childless and widows,
let their husbands be slain by disease,
let their young men be slain by the sword in battle,
22 let screams be heard from their houses
when you bring raiders on them without warning.
For they have dug a pit to catch me
and have laid snares for my feet.
23 Nevertheless, Adonai, you know
all their plans against me to stop me.
Do not forgive their crime,
do not blot out their sin from your sight;
but let them be made to stumble before you;
deal with them when you are angry.

19 Adonai then said, “Go; buy a clay jar from the potter; take some of the people’s leaders and some of the leading cohanim; and go out into the Ben-Hinnom Valley, by the entry to the Potsherd Gate. There you are to proclaim the words I am about to tell you. Say: ‘Hear the word of Adonai, kings of Y’hudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim! This is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: “I am about to bring disaster on this place that will make the ears of whoever hears about it ring. This is because they have abandoned me and alienated this place. In it they have offered to other gods that neither they nor their ancestors have known, nor the kings of Y’hudah. They have filled this place with the blood of innocent people. They have built the high places of Ba‘al, in order to burn up their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Ba‘al — something I never ordered or said; it never even entered my mind.

“‘“Therefore the time is coming,” says Adonai, “when this place will no longer be called either Tofet or the Ben-Hinnom Valley, but the Valley of Slaughter. I will nullify the plans of Y’hudah and Yerushalayim in this place. I will have them fall by the sword before their enemies and at the hand of those seeking their lives, and I will give their corpses as food for the birds in the air and the wild animals. I will make this city an object of horror and ridicule; everyone passing by will be horrified and will ridicule it because of all its wounds. I will cause them to eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters; everyone will be eating the flesh of his friends during the siege, because of the shortage imposed on them by their enemies and those set on killing them.”’

10 “Then you are to smash the jar in front of the people who went with you, 11 and say to them, ‘Adonai-Tzva’ot says that this is how I will break this people and this city, just as one smashes a potter’s vessel beyond the possibility of repair. The dead will be buried in Tofet, because there will be no space left for burial [anywhere else]. 12 That is what I will do to this place,’ says Adonai ‘and to its inhabitants; I will make it like Tofet. 13 The houses of Yerushalayim and those of the kings of Y’hudah will be defiled like this place Tofet — yes, all the houses on whose roofs they have offered to all the stars in heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”

14 Then Yirmeyahu returned from Tofet, where Adonai had sent him to prophesy, stood in the courtyard of Adonai’s house and said to all the people, 15 “This is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘I am bringing on this city and all its surrounding villages all the disaster I have pronounced against it; because they have stiffened their necks and refused to pay attention to my words.’”

20 Now when the cohen Pash’chur son of Immer, chief official in the house of Adonai, heard Yirmeyahu prophesying these things, he had him flogged and put him in the stocks at the Upper Binyamin Gate of the house of Adonai. The following morning, when Pash’chur led Yirmeyahu out of the stocks, Yirmeyahu said to him, “Adonai no longer calls you Pash’chur but Magor-Missaviv [terror on every side]. For this is what Adonai says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies, while you watch. I will hand over all of Y’hudah to the king of Bavel, and he will carry them off captive to Bavel and put them to the sword. Moreover, I will hand over everything stored in this city, all its valuables, all its wealth, indeed all the treasures of the kings of Y’hudah, to their enemies, who will plunder them, take them and carry them to Bavel. And you, Pash’chur, along with your entire household, will go into captivity; you will go to Bavel, where you will die and be buried — you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’”

You fooled me, Adonai; I have been your dupe.
You overpowered me, and you have prevailed.
All day long I’m a laughingstock;
everyone makes fun of me.
Whenever I speak, I have to cry out;
I shout, “Violence!” and “Destruction!”
Thus the word of Adonai becomes for me
the cause of reproach and derision all day!
But if I say, “I won’t think about him,
I won’t speak in his name any more,”
then it seems as though a fire
is burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones;
I wear myself out
trying to hold it in,
but I just can’t do it.
10 I have heard many whispering their plot:
“‘Terror in every direction’?
Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”
Even all my close friends
are watching for me to make a false step —
“Maybe he can be tricked,
then we’ll get the better of him,
then we’ll take our revenge on him.”

11 But Adonai is with me like a dreaded warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble, defeated,
greatly ashamed because of their failure;
their lasting disgrace will not be forgotten.
12 Adonai-Tzva’ot, you who test the righteous
and see people’s hearts and thoughts,
let me see you take vengeance on them,
for I have committed my cause to you.

13 Sing to Adonai! Praise Adonai!
For he rescues those in need
from the clutches of evildoers.

14 A curse on the day I was born!
The day my mother gave birth to me —
let it not be blessed!
15 A curse on the man who brought the news
to my father, “A son has been born to you!” —
thus making him very happy.
16 Let that man be like the cities
Adonai overthrew without mercy!
Let him hear cries of alarm in the morning
and the sound of battle at noon,
17 because God did not put me to death in the womb
and let my mother become my grave,
her womb forever filled with me.
18 Why did I have to emerge from the womb,
just to see toil and sorrow,
and end my days in shame?

21 This is the word that came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai when King Tzidkiyahu sent to him Pash’chur the son of Malkiyah and Tz’fanyah the son of Ma‘aseiyah with this message: “Please consult Adonai for us, because N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel is making war on us. Maybe Adonai will perform a miracle for us and cause him to withdraw.”

Yirmeyahu answered them, “Here is what you are to tell Tzidkiyahu: ‘This is what Adonai, the God of Isra’el, says: “I will make the weapons of war that you have in your hands ineffectual in your fight against the king of Bavel and the Kasdim who are outside the walls besieging you. Instead, I will gather them inside this city; and I myself will fight against you with my hand stretched out and with a strong arm, in anger, rage and great fury. I will strike the inhabitants of this city, humans and animals alike, and they will die of a terrible plague. Afterwards,” says Adonai “I will hand over Tzidkiyahu king of Y’hudah, his servants, the people, and anyone remaining alive in this city after the plague, war and famine, to N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel and to their enemies, to those who seek their lives; and he will put them to the sword. He will not spare them; he will have no pity, no compassion.”’

“And here is what you are to tell this people: ‘Adonai says: “Look! I am presenting you with the way of life and the way of death. Anyone who stays in this city will die by sword, famine and plague. But he who leaves and surrenders to the Kasdim besieging you will stay alive; his own life will be his only ‘spoils of war.’ 10 For I have determined absolutely that this city will have evil, not good,” says Adonai. “It is going to be handed over to the king of Bavel, and he will burn it to the ground.”’

11 “To the royal house of Y’hudah say: ‘Hear the word of Adonai; 12 house of David, this is what Adonai says:

“Judge fairly every morning,
rescue the wronged from their oppressors;
or my fury will lash out like fire,
burning so hot that no one can quench it,
because of how evil your actions are.”
13 Adonai says, “I am against you, [Yerushalayim,]
situated in a valley like a rock on a plain.
You who say, ‘Who can come down against us?
Who can enter our lairs?’ —
14 I will punish you,” says Adonai,
“as your deeds deserve.
I will set its forest on fire,
and it will devour everything around it.”’”

22 Adonai said, “Go down to the house of the king of Y’hudah and there speak this word: ‘King of Y’hudah occupying David’s throne, hear the word of Adonai — you, your servants and your people who enter through these gates. This is what Adonai says:

“Do what is right and just;
rescue the wronged from their oppressors;
do nothing wrong or violent
to the stranger, orphan or widow;
don’t shed innocent blood in this place.

“‘“If you are careful to do this, then future kings occupying David’s throne will enter these palace gates riding in chariots and on horses — he, his servants and his people. But if you will not pay attention to these words, then I swear by myself,” says Adonai, “that this palace will become a ruin.”’

“For here is what Adonai says concerning the palace of the king of Y’hudah:

‘You are like Gil‘ad to me,
like the peak of the L’vanon;
yet I will turn you into a desert,
uninhabited cities.
I will designate men to destroy you,
each one with his weapons;
they will chop down your choice cedars
and throw them in the fire.’

“Many nations will pass by this city, and they will say to one another, ‘Why has Adonai done such a thing to this great city?’ The answer will be, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of Adonai their God and worshipped other gods, serving them.’”

10 Do not weep for [the king] who has died,
do not mourn for him [Yoshiyahu].
But weep for him who departs [to Egypt],
for he will never return
or see his native land again.

11 For this is what Adonai says about Shalum the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, who succeeded Yoshiyahu his father as king: “He has left this place, never to return; 12 but he will die in the place where they have led him captive, without seeing this land again.

13 “Woe to him who builds his palace unfairly,
its upper rooms by injustice;
who makes his neighbor work for free
and will not give him his wages;
14 who says, ‘I will build me a spacious palace
with airy upper rooms,’
then makes windows and cedar panels
painted with vermilion!
15 Your cedar may be excellent,
but that doesn’t make you a better king.
True, your father ate and drank,
but he also did what was right and just,
so things went well with him.
16 He upheld the cause of the poor and the weak,
so everything went well.
Isn’t that what knowing me
is all about?” says Adonai.
17 “In contrast, your eyes and heart
are controlled entirely by your greed,
your desire for shedding innocent blood,
oppressing and extorting.”

18 Therefore here is what Adonai says concerning Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah:

“There will be no one to mourn for him,
‘Oh! My brother!’ or ‘Oh! My sister!’
There will be no one to mourn for him,
‘Oh! My master!’ or ‘Oh! His glory!’
19 He will be given a donkey’s ‘burial’ —
dragged out the gates of Yerushalayim
and thrown away [to rot].
20 Climb up to the L’vanon and cry out,
raise your voice in Bashan,
cry out from ‘Avarim,
for all your lovers are broken.
21 I spoke to you in your times of prosperity,
but you said, ‘I won’t listen.’
This has been your pattern since you were young —
you pay no attention to what I say.
22 The wind will shepherd all your shepherds away,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced
for all your wicked deeds.
23 You who live in the L’vanon,
nesting in the cedars,
how gracious will you be
when pains come on you like a woman in labor?

24 “As I live,” says Adonai, “even if Koniyahu the son of Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off 25 and hand you over to those who seek your life, to those you fear, N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel and the Kasdim. 26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave birth to you into a country different from the one you were born in, and you will die there. 27 They will not return to the country to which they long to return.”

28 Is this man Koniyahu
a despised, broken pot,
an instrument nobody wants?
Why are they being thrown out?
Why are he and his offspring thrown out
into a country they do not know?
29 Oh, land, land, land!
Hear the word of Adonai!
30 This what Adonai says:
“List this man as childless;
he is a lifetime failure —
none of his offspring will succeed,
none will sit on David’s throne
or rule again in Y’hudah.”

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