Jeremiah 18

1 The word that came unto Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying:

This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord:

2 Arise and go down to the house of the potter, —and, there, will I cause thee to hear my words.

Go down right away to the potter's house. I will give you my message there.

3 So I went down, to the house of the potter, —and there he was! making a piece of work on the wheels,

I went down to the potter's house and saw him working at his potter's wheel.

4 Then was marred, the vessel that he was making, while yet it was clay in the hand of the potter, —so he turned and made of it another vessel, as seemed right in the eyes of the potter to make it.

But the pot that he was making from the clay went wrong. So he made it into something different as he thought best.

5 Then came the word of Yahweh unto me, saying:

The Lord's message came to me, saying,

6 Like this potter, can I not deal with you O house of Israel? Demandeth Yahweh: Lo! as clay in the hand of the potter, So, are, ye, in my hand O house of Israel.

People of Israel, declares the Lord, can't I deal with you just like this potter does with his clay? I hold you in my hand just like clay in the potter's hand, people of Israel.

7 The moment I speak, concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom, —to pull up and to break down, and to destroy;

At one time it could happen that I announce that a nation or a kingdom is going to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed.

8 and that nation return from its wickedness against whom I have spoken, then will I repent concerning the calamity which I had devised to bring upon it.

However, if that nation I warned gives up its evil ways, then I will change my mind regarding the disaster I was about to bring.

9 And, the moment I speak, concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom, —to build and to plant;

At another time I could announce that I'm going to build up and give power to a nation or a kingdom.

10 and it commit wickedness in mine eyes, in not hearkening unto my voice, then will I repent concerning the good wherewith I had said I would do it good.

But if it does evil in my sight and refuses to listen to my voice, then I will change my mind regarding the good I had planned for it.

11 Now, therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the men of Judah and concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, Thus, saith Yahweh, —Lo! I am fashioning against you calamity, and devising against you, a device, —Return I pray you every man from his wicked way, And amend your ways and your doings.

So tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says: Watch out! I am preparing disaster for you, and working out a plan against you. All of you, give up your evil ways. Live right and act right!

12 And, since they will say, Hopeless! For after our own devices, will we walk, And, every one, the stubbornness of his own wicked heart, will we do!

But they'll say, “We just can't! We'll do whatever we want. Each of us will stubbornly follow our own evil thinking.”

13 Therefore, Thus saith Yahweh, Ask I pray you among the nations, —Who hath heard such things as these? A very horrible thing, hath, the virgin, Israel done!

Consequently this is what the Lord says: Ask around the nations—has anybody ever heard anything like this? Virgin Israel has acted really badly.

14 Shall the snow of Lebanon, fail from the rock of the field? Or shall waters from afar, deep, overflowing, be dried up?

Does the snow of Lebanon ever disappear from its rocky mountain-tops? Do its cool waters that flow from such distant sources ever dry up?

15 Yet my people have forgotten me, Unto vanity, have they been burning incense; And it hath caused them to stumble In their ways The roads of age-past times, To walk in by-paths—A way not cast up.

But my people have rejected me! They burn incense to useless idols which trip them up, making them leave the old roads in order to walk down unmade paths instead of the highway.

16 To make their land a desolation The hissings of age-abiding times, —Every one that passeth by her, shall be astonished and wag his head.

They have turned their country into a horrific wasteland, a place that will always be treated with contempt. People passing by will be shocked, shaking their heads in disbelief.

17 Like an east wind, will I scatter them before the enemy, —The back and not the face, will I let them see in the day of their distress.

Like a strong wind from the east I will scatter them before the enemy. I will turn my back on them and not look at them when their time of trouble comes.

18 Then said they, —Come ye and let us devise against Jeremiah devices, For the law shall not perish from the priest, Nor, counsel, from the wise, Nor, the word from the prophet: Come and let as smite him with the tongue, And let us not give ear to any of his words!

Some people decided, “We need a plan to deal with Jeremiah. There'll still be priests to explain the law, there'll still be wise people to give advice, and there'll still be prophets to give prophecies. Let's organize a smear campaign against him so we don't have to listen to a word he says.”

19 Give thou ear O Yahweh unto me, —And hearken unto the voice of mine accusers.

Lord, please pay attention to what's happening to me! Listen to what my accusers are saying!

20 Shall, evil, be recompensed for good? For they have digged a pit for my life, —Remember how I stood before thee To speak in their behalf what was good! To turn back thine indignation from them.

Should good be paid back with evil? Yet they have dug a pit to trap me! Remember how I stood before you to plead on their behalf, to stop you being angry with them?

21 Therefore, give thou up their sons to the famine And deliver them into the hands of the sword, And let their, wives, become, childless and widows, And let, their men, be slain by death, Their young men be smitten by the sword in battle.

But now may their children starve; may they be killed by the sword. May their wives lose their children and their husbands; may their husbands die from disease; may their young men be killed in battle.

22 Let there be heard a cry out of their houses, When thou shalt bring in upon them a troop, suddenly, —Because they digged a pit to capture me, And snares, did they hide for my feet.

May cries of agony be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring invaders to attack them, because they dug a pit to capture me and hid traps to catch me as I walk along.

23 But, thou, O Yahweh, knowest all their counsels against me to put me to death, Put thou no propitiatory-covering over their iniquity, And their sin from before thee, do not thou blot out, —But let them be overthrown before thee, In the time of thine anger, deal thou effectively with them.

But Lord, you know about all their plots to try and kill me. Don't forgive their wickedness; don't wipe away their sin. Bring them down! Deal with them when you're angry!